


Statement Not Given

by toad_in_the_road



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018), The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: AU, Angst, Catra calls Elias a bitch to his face so there's that, Cats, Crossover, F/F, F/M, Friendship/Love, Helen simps come get yall juice, Horror, Hurt/Comfort, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, Lesbian Disaster Adora (She-Ra), M/M, Mommy Issues, Mutual Pining, Nonbinary Character, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Portals, The Magnus Archives Season 4, This is kind of Double Trouble's story, You're Welcome, cosmic horror, i wrote this when i was less than halfway through season four, im gay, me hashing out my own issues because i dont wanna go back to therapy, so dont come for me, theres so many mommy issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:47:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 38,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25714546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toad_in_the_road/pseuds/toad_in_the_road
Summary: Jon was quiet. “...are you going to kill me?”The thing looked shocked. “Oh, darling, no! And before you get any more awful ideas in your head, I didn’t do anything to your friend. He simply had to go home and change out of wet clothes.” The thing rolled it’s eyes, slouching grumpily in it’s seat. “Goodness, where would you get that idea?”“What…” Jon paused. “What are you?”The thing smiled, and the black aura appeared again. When it lifted, Jon couldn’t keep in a yell, stumbling backwards and knocking over a pile of papers.Something green and reptilian grinned at him, mouth filled with rows of sharp teeth. It’s eyes blinked sideways, like a lizard, and it tossed it’s long blonde hair like a strange supermodel. It laughed, seeming to find Jon’s reaction amusing.“Really, darling, that’s quite rude.” It shook a finger at Jon, as if scolding a child. A thick, green tail flicked, as if to accentuate the strangeness of this new guest. “Name’s Double Trouble. Actor, espionage, pianist extraordinaire.”
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Netossa/Spinnerella (She-Ra)
Comments: 348
Kudos: 229
Collections: Shera, The Magnus Archives





	1. Not Martin

**Author's Note:**

> i combined the two ends of the queer media spectrum and got this so im sorry
> 
> this is probably going to be a slow update process because i just started season 4 of tma and I'm in a weird spot with it. that said, I hope you enjoy me making things up and editing things on the fly :')

Double Trouble had never been anywhere so exceedingly boring.

They had stolen someone’s face-a woman with dark hair and a sharp nose-and wandered the streets. They had no time to figure out her character, as it was an emergency shift as Double Trouble very quickly realized the stares they were receiving were not of adoration, but fear.

In a way, the lack of character background was fun. Double Trouble had only created a character with Flutterina once before, and she had been a boring part to play once the novelty of espionage wore off. Now Double Trouble had free reign, with one objective to their character: survive until Entrapta could get them back.

So they created a character: Willow Willington, a woman on the path to stardom, a plucky gal who didn’t need anyone to tell her what to do, determined to make her own way in the world. Some people suppressed smiles when Double Trouble told them their name, but then, everyone here had such boring names. Frankly, they should be thanking Double Trouble for giving them at least a little bit of fun into their plain, mundane lives.

And it was mundane.

Everyone looked the same, and it was starting to freak Double Trouble out. Sure, people could be told apart, but it was as if they had all been pumped out of the same factory and then had a few distinctive features added. No tails, no wings, no nothing. And no magic, as far as they could tell.

As much fun as it was to play Willow Willington, Double Trouble quickly realized a blank slate did little here. People here needed material things. Papers that told them you were who you said you were, for instance. Which Double Trouble didn’t have, and didn’t have the resources to create. So it was with a heavy heart Double Trouble realized they would need to steal an identity in order to make it.

This required some time and scoping, but Double Trouble prided themself on their craft too much to rush into just any life. They needed someone who had the “it” factor. Who’s life had danger! Drama! Excitement! 

It was a few weeks before Double Trouble found a suitable target. Martin Blackwood. A soft spoken, kind man who worked at this place called the Magnus Institute, working in the Archives. It sounded boring to Double Trouble, but based on the reactions Martin was given by other people, this Institute had quite the reputation. Whether good or bad, Double Trouble didn’t know or care. 

The only problem was that Martin was savvier than Double Trouble gave him credit for. If Double Trouble didn’t wear a new face every time, Martin would somehow manage to pick them out and avoid them like the plague. It gave Double Trouble a better insight into the man, however. 

Martin Blackwood, vigilant and slightly paranoid, stuttered slightly whenever caught off guard, didn’t like his job too much but stayed anyway (Double Trouble hadn’t figured out why yet). Wore glasses when reading and had a small scar above his eyebrow that he scratched at when concentrating. He drank tea, which was a slight problem as Double Trouble couldn’t stand the stuff.

Oh yes, Martin Blackwood would be a fun part to play indeed. 

Double Trouble had an easy diversion. They didn’t want to kill Martin Blackwood, of course. They wanted to try the role out for a day and see how it went. If it wasn’t for them, oh well. If it was...well, Double Trouble would figure out some way to get rid of Martin without a mess. 

The day the switch was about to go down was gray and rainy. Big puddles that reflected the sky’s ashy color flooded the streets, which lent itself quite nicely to Double Trouble’s plan. Children were too easy to be, and they were a small boy with sandy hair and a pudgy face when they raced up next to Martin, stomping in a muddy puddle, squealing in delight when the dirty water splashed onto Martin. The joy wasn’t difficult to pull off. Having lived mostly in the Crimson Waste, Double Trouble could count on one hand the number of times they had seen rain.

“Augh!” Martin reeled back, startled, but by the time he had regained his bearings, Double Trouble was already out of sight. Double Trouble couldn’t resist a proud grin as they watched Martin sigh deeply, and turn around to go back home to change. 

Moments later, Not-Martin Blackwood walked down the streets of this strange city confidently, knowing the route after many weeks of watching. They stared at their pale, boring hands, and glanced in windows, making sure every detail was right. 

Not-Martin Blackwood opened the door to the Magnus Institute, and the woman behind the desk at the front briefly looked at them, nodded, and went back to typing on an ancient looking computer. 

Not even the slightest suspicion was in her eyes.

Double Trouble smiled.

*** *** ***

The first warning was when Martin said hello. 

Jonathan Simms knew he was being avoided, and when Martin came down into the Archives with little hesitation, it struck him as odd that suddenly weeks of no contact were seemingly forgotten.

“Martin?” Jon called, sticking his head out of his office, unsure if Martin would suddenly retreat. He didn’t. In fact, he looked at Jon and smiled. 

“Oh, hello.” Martin said. 

Unwanted warning bells of Sasha and long, pale skinny things popped into Jon’s memories. But...last time he didn’t notice anything was amiss until it was too late. Or had the creature returned, now allowing Jon to remember in order to taunt him?

“...you haven’t been down here in awhile.” Jon said cautiously.

“Have I?” Martin said, sounding almost surprised. For a moment, it looked as if disappointment crossed his face. Disappointment in himself, though for what Jon couldn’t imagine.

“You’ve been avoiding me.” Jon said evenly. He wished he knew where Basira was. She usually had some sort of weapon. 

Martin looked guilty. “Oh, I-I’m sorry if you thought that. I’ve just been busy. I-”

“Did Peter Lucas send you here?” Jon asked.

Martin brightened. “Yes, yes. He wanted me to help you out.”

“Oh?” Jon said, suddenly very certain this wasn’t Martin. “With what?”

Before the thing could even answer, Jon glared, suddenly aware that a tape recorder was sat on the table next to Marin. It was already running. “What are you? What do you want?”

The thing blinked, and then deflated, as if even more disappointed. “Now what tipped you off?!” It said, in a very different voice that was startling to hear come out of Martin’s mouth. Jon barely resisted flinching. “You’re really hurting my feelings, you know, I studied this character for weeks!” The thing tossed it’s hands in the air. “And not even two minutes go by before you sniff me out!” 

It huffed, collapsing into a chair. “What was it? It wasn’t the lack of knowledge, I know that, you were suspicious the second I came in-”

“What are you?” Jon demanded, panic being overtaken by anger. If that...that thing that took Sasha took Martin too…

The thing looked at Jon, amused. A strange black, sparkling aura overtook it for a second, and then dissipated. This time Jon couldn’t keep in a gasp. The thing was no longer masquerading as Martin. Now it was a perfect copy of Jon.

“And what are these from?” The thing gently touched the faux scars on it’s face. “That’ll be a story, I bet. Is it the reason you’re so paranoid and jumpy?”

“Stop that.” Jon said.

The thing looked at Jon, and when it blinked...its eyes became wrong. Reptilian. “You’re no fun.” It said, in a perfect copy of Jon’s voice.

Jon was quiet. “...are you going to kill me?” 

The thing looked shocked. “Oh, darling, no! And before you get any more awful ideas in your head, I didn’t do anything to your friend. He simply had to go home and change out of wet clothes.” The thing rolled it’s eyes, slouching grumpily in it’s seat. “Goodness, where would you get that idea?”

“What…” Jon paused. “What are you?”

The thing smiled, and the black aura appeared again. When it lifted, Jon couldn’t keep in a yell, stumbling backwards and knocking over a pile of papers.

Something green and reptilian grinned at him, mouth filled with rows of sharp teeth. It’s eyes blinked sideways, like a lizard, and it tossed it’s long blonde hair like a strange supermodel. It laughed, seeming to find Jon’s reaction amusing. 

“Really, darling, that’s quite rude.” It shook a finger at Jon, as if scolding a child. A thick, green tail flicked, as if to accentuate the strangeness of this new guest. “Name’s Double Trouble. Actor, espionage, pianist extraordinaire.”


	2. The Thing With a Thousand Costumes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guys i cannot BELIEVE the support this story has gotten in less than a day!!!!!! thank you so much!!!!!

“Pianist?” The man asked, sounding almost amused, despite his expression being one of complete horror.

Double Trouble leaned against the wall, trying to look nonchalant. They immediately jumped back, however, as a gritty layer of dust covered their back. “Ugh.” They wrinkled their nose, leaning back from the offending grime. “When was the last time you cleaned down here?”

The man seemed to snap out of his shock, glaring at Double Trouble with unconcealed malice. “What are you doing here? What do you want?”

Double Trouble shrugged. “In a cosmic sense, future goals, or right now?” They pulled out a rolling chair, sitting down carefully. “Right now, I wanted to see if I liked the role of Martin Blackwood. In the future, I would like to go home. In a cosmic sense, I’d like to be beloved by all.” They grinned.

“Home?” The man asked. He glanced at something next to Double Trouble, and they followed his gaze, seeing a small, battered tape recorder, giving a gentle whir to alert them that it was currently listening.

“And what’s this for?” Double Trouble asked, picking it up.

“Don’t touch that,” The man snapped. “And you didn’t answer my question.”

“That’s because it’s your turn to answer a question, darling.” Double Trouble’s forked tongue flicked out, licking their eye. It was unnecessary, but they had learned long ago that this move was a good way to make people uneasy. It had an instant effect on the man, who physically flinched. 

“Let’s start easy.” Double Trouble said, spinning around in the chair. “I gave you my name, so you give me your’s.”

“Double Trouble isn’t a real name. I doubt you have a name anyway.” The man snapped.

Double Trouble stopped the chair short, looking at the man in shock. “You are very rude,” They said. “Double Trouble _is_ my name. Not my fault the names here are so boring or misleading. Martin Blackwood...the man is not a living dark colored tree. That’s what we call false advertising.”

The man looked surprised. “So...you’re actually called Double Trouble? Is it because of the shapeshifting? How can you do that? Is that your real form?”

“Ah ah,” Double Trouble smiled. “Name. Or I’ll just start calling you Scarface, and neither of us wants that.”

The man scowled, and then sighed, defeated. “...Jonathan Simms.”

Double Trouble clapped. “See? Not so hard. Now it’s your turn.” They spun around in the chair again.

“Are you the thing that took Sasha?” Jonathan asked, sounding tentative.

“I don’t think so. I certainly never took anybody.” Double Trouble said. 

“How do I know you aren’t lying?” Jonathan demanded. 

“I don’t know, why would I lie?”

“Because you would want to trick me into thinking you’re a friend, and then when I let my guard down, you’ll kill me and steal my identity.”

Double Trouble grinned. “You think we could be friends?” They laughed. “No, darling. I’m not in the business of killing. So messy. So much evidence. And why would I want to hurt you so badly?”

Jonathan looked unsure. “Because...you really don’t know?”

“If I did, I wouldn’t be wasting my question, would I?” Double Trouble stopped the chair again. They blinked, dizzy. 

Jonathan regarded Double Trouble with a quizzical look. “So...this is what you really look like? You aren’t here to kill anyone?”

Double Trouble sighed deeply. “No. I don’t know how many times I have to say it, but whatever you’re worried I am, I’m not.”

“Then...what the hell are you?” Jonathan asked.

Double Trouble scowled slightly. “You are an extremely rude man, Jonathan.” 

Jonathan looked surprised to be called out. “Ah...I-I’m sorry, it’s just...I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like you. Or at least something like you that’s not...evil.”

Double Trouble smiled. “That sounds like flattery. I love flattery.”

*** *** ***

This Double Trouble was a vain, chaotic, slightly unhinged creature. But they seemed sincere enough in their promises of harmlessness, so Jon supposed it was up to him to find out as much as he could about them.

Double Trouble was back to spinning, seeming content to chatter nonsense and get dizzy, but Jon’s eyes fell on the tape recorder. Maybe…

“Would you like to make a statement?” Jon blurted out.

“A what?” Double Trouble asked, not ceasing the spinning.

“A statement. That’s what we do here. We study things that are-” Jon decided not to use the word abnormal. “-unique. I’m the head archivist here. So I essentially document people’s experiences and...well, try to make sense of them.”

“Aw, you think I’m unique?” Double Trouble’s expression looked thoughtful, though it was hard to tell with all the spinning. “What would I even make a statement about?”

“Who you are. Where you’re from. How you got these powers. Your goals, alliances, that sort of thing.” Jon said.

Double Trouble spun, knocking over a large pile of papers with their tail. “Whoops.” They said, finally coming to a stop. “Alright, Jonathan, I won’t give you a statement, I’ll give you something better.” Their eyes lit up with glee. “I’ll give you a _performance_.”

“Great.” Jon said, grabbing a different chair, several yards away from Double Trouble. “Statement-I mean, performance of, ah, Double Trouble regarding...themselves, I suppose.”

Double Trouble looked lazily at the tape recorder, and then back at Jon. “You can come closer, darling, I won’t bite.” They smiled, showing off sharp teeth.

“I’m fine where I am.” Jon said evenly.

Double Trouble’s tail flicked, but they seemed to accept defeat. This time. “Statement-performance begins.” Jon said.

Double Trouble sighed deeply. “Oh, goodness, where to start? I’m quite good at improv, but it’s always been as someone else…”

“Maybe start with your powers.” Jon said.

“Talents,” Double Trouble corrected. “It’s one thing to take on the appearance of another. Anyone can do that, to some degree. Costumes are easy. Acting takes hard work and dedication.” They glanced at Jon mischievously. “It’s not as easy to imitate voices as you think.” They said, in a perfect copy of Jon’s voice.

Jon suppressed a shiver. “Don’t do that.”

Double Trouble shrugged. “As for the easy part, I’ve always been able to do it. It’s quite easy. Like blinking. Although I take pride in matching details exactly. If you just showed me a picture for a second, I could imitate it, sure, but not perfectly. The nose might be off, the hair color a shade or two darker than it should. I study my characters, both in personality and looks, so I can pull off a flawless performance.”

“So...what are the limits?” Jon asked.

“Oh, not many. I can’t turn into a non-sentient being, not for lack of trying. I think it’s something to do with a lack of self, or some philosophical jargon like that. I suppose I can break character or voice when significantly distracted, but I don’t think I’ve ever involuntarily shifted costumes.” Double Trouble said.

“So...it really is like putting on clothes,” Jon said, somewhat amazed. “Once it’s on, you have to take time to take it off.”

Double Trouble smiled. “You’re a sharp one.”

“So...you can only do people you’ve seen?” Jon asked.

“Oh, no. Certainly not. I’ve created a few costumes from scratch, although it’s more difficult than you think. First you have to find the right proportions, and then pick out a suitable voice, and then make sure you keep the handmade costume together, as they can change subtly if you aren’t careful. But I think I’m good at that too.” Double Trouble said. The shadowy aura consumed them, and when it was gone, there was a small, childlike, female creature. She was nearly completely pink, with wings to boot. She smiled. “Flutterina was a commissioned character, so I can’t say she’s my favorite.” The child-Flutterina-said, in a completely different voice.

“Commissioned? By who-are you a mercenary?!” Jon said suddenly.

Flutterina disappeared, and Double Trouble sighed. “You don’t need to say it like _that_.”

“Was this...in your home?” Jon asked.

“Why, yes.” Double Trouble said. “I have a good theory as to why I’m in your boring city. You see, my friend-” They paused. “-my acquaintance, Entrapta, is something of a scientist. She’s dabbled in portals before, although last time it almost destroyed reality as we know it, but that’s neither here nor there.”

“Now hang on-” Jon said, but Double Trouble wasn’t paying attention.

“I hang around with her and her friends, when I’m bored. I’m not exactly welcomed, as I had a few small scuffles with them as I worked as a spy against them, but that’s not important.” Double Trouble stood up, wandering aimlessly. “Entrapta usually lets me around as long as I pretend to listen to her babble. So I was sort of exploring, looking around, and I may have had a teensy accident in which I pushed a lever. And boom. Bright flash of purple light, and I’m in a cloudy, gross street with people staring at me as though I’m a monster.”

Jon blinked. “I…so...you’re from another dimension? Is that what you’re saying?”

“Near as I can figure, yes.” Double Trouble smiled amiably.

Jon rubbed his eyes, feeling a headache coming on. “I...should be surprised, but this really isn’t the strangest thing that’s happened to me.”

“Exciting life, hm?” Double Trouble flipped through papers. “Anyway, don’t worry about me, I’ll be out of your unkempt hair as soon as they come back for me.”

“That’s not-” Jon paused. “You said this portal nearly tore apart reality.”

“Yes, Jonathan. Congratulations, you can hear.” Double Trouble said.

“And that these...people don’t like you all too much.” Jon said, fitting pieces together. “So...how do you know they’ll come back for you?”

The change was instantaneous. Double Trouble stiffened, and their eyes went wide. Their smile tightened painfully. “I...I don’t…” Their voice had lost all easy confidence.

Jon wished he hadn’t said anything, but remained silent. He didn’t trust himself to say anything that wouldn’t make the situation worse.

“...they have too. They...they’re a team. That’s their whole spiel, I mean, we’ve had disagreements, but...I mean, it is a risk, but...they can’t just leave me here, I don’t want to be here! I...I...ah…” They gripped the papers so tightly they tore.

“Double Trouble-” Jon started, but the creature from another place glared at him, yellow, snake eyes suddenly looking dangerous.

“No more questions.” They hissed.

Double Trouble dropped the papers and melted away into the shadows of the archives.


	3. The Truth Hook

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dang two updates in one day? it's almost like i don't have a life!

_They have to come back for me. They have to._

Double Trouble was a creature of movement and grandeur. Everything, as long as they could remember, was temporary. Homes, allies, safety, roles. Growing up in the Crimson Waste meant that you could never get too comfortable.

Most beings would struggle, but Double Trouble thrived under constant pressure and change. And their talents only made it more exciting. Once life got boring, or too much of the same, it was easy to yank up roots and find a new niche, and then another, and then another. Change was ingrained into their nature. 

All the same, this was a far larger change than expected. 

This was a world of sameness. Jonathan might have used the world “unique”, but he meant worse things. Double Trouble could see it. Abnormalities-magic-was either disbelieved or feared. And yes, Double Trouble enjoyed sowing chaos as much as the next person, but at the end of the day it was just mindless, fun mischief. In Etheria, it would earn them a groan, a shout, a sigh, or a standing ovation. 

Here it was screams of terror. A scream of terror at an _abnormality_.

It reminded them of someone who’s name started with Horde and ended with Prime.

And at the end of the day, Double Trouble liked themself. Filling in roles was all well and good, but while there may be a place for Willow Willington, there was never going to be a place for Double Trouble.

Except maybe here, in this stagnant place where they were feared and questioned. And Double Trouble did not want to stay here. 

_They can’t leave me. They can’t._

They had picked a suitable hiding place on top of one of the larger shelves, covered with dusty files and tapes. They curled up so they were completely hidden unless someone decided to look directly up, their yellow eyes surveying the seemingly endless archives. 

It wasn’t long before Jonathan Simms came looking.

He didn’t call out for them, probably only looking half-heartedly. Probably to shoo them out. A nasty, angry part of Double Trouble wondered if they could dispose of the man and then take his place...but then they would be trapped in this role. And nothing seemed worse than that.

Also, Double Trouble didn’t want to go through the trouble of disposing the body. They didn’t know how to get away with murder.

“Go away, Jonathan.” Double Trouble said when the man was right under them. Jonathan looked up, surprised. 

“You didn’t, ah, finish your statement.” He said.

“I think you have all you need.” Double Trouble said. 

Jonathan paused. “Who, uh...do you serve a patron?”

“I said no more questions.” Double Trouble said in a steely voice.

“...do you serve a patron of any kind?” Jonathan asked again.

“I said-'' Double Trouble’s ear twitched involuntarily, and they paused. “Hey-”

“Do you wish to cause anyone here any harm?” Jonathan asked.

Double Trouble bared their teeth, suddenly desperate. “Whatever you are doing, Jonathan Simms, stop it now.”

“Answer. The questions.” Jonathan said.

Double Trouble winced. “...no. No to both. I told you that.” 

Quick as a flash, Double Trouble yanked off their boot and lobbed it at Jonathan, hitting them in the face. He stumbled back. “Ow.”

“You deserve that, for whatever that was. Don’t do that again.” Double Trouble barely suppressed a shudder.

It was some kind of truth spell, that much was obvious. But...when Glimmer had (finally) succeeded in her truth spell, it was simply like the option to lie had been blocked. But here...it was like the answer was being dragged out by a jagged hook. Double Trouble could _try_ and lie, but...they knew that would have ended very, very badly.

“What was that?” Double Trouble said. 

“...I’m...surprised you could tell.” Jonathan confessed, picking up their boot.

“Of course I can. It’s some kind of magic. Magic is everywhere back home.” Double Trouble snapped.

Jonathan looked shocked. “It is?”

“No. More. Questions. And give me my boot back.” Double Trouble reached out their hand.

“How do your clothes change with you?” Jonathan asked.

“I don’t know! Give it!”

Jonathan reluctantly handed the boot back, and Double Trouble glared fiercely at him. “I thought there wasn’t magic. Or at least, there shouldn’t be.”

“It’s...complicated,” Jonathan confessed. “Like I said, I’m the Archivist. And...I didn’t know this until after I took the job, but apparently it comes with some fine print. Like...knowing things you might not want to know. And being able to get the truth out of people.”

“Drag the truth out of people.” Double Trouble snapped. 

Jonathan sighed. “I had to be sure.”

“Sure of what? That I’m not an evil monster?” Double Trouble demanded.

“...yes. You’re the first...inhuman being that hasn’t tried to hurt me.” Jonathan said slowly. 

Double Trouble faltered. “...all magic is evil?”

“I...I don’t think magic is the right word,” Jonathan paused. “These...abilities like your’s, as far as I know, are gifted by these...beings. Gods, I suppose. And these gods are powered by fears. The, uh, the deepest fears of humanity. There’s several of them, and I won’t get into that, but…”

“You mentioned a Sasha,” Double Trouble interrupted. “Something like me...took her?”

Jonathan was quiet for a long time. “...yes. It...pretended to be her for a long time, and...no one noticed. And when we did, it was far too late to help her.”

Double Trouble was quiet for a long time, eyes reflecting the dim light somewhat eerily. “...I’m sorry.” They finally said quietly. 

The silence that filled the archives seemed to go on forever, as if the world had gone mute. “...they’re not coming back for me, are they?” Double Trouble said, the question more a statement than a query.

Jonathan did not respond. 

Double Trouble flipped onto their back, tail hanging over the edge of the shelf. The ceiling was close, and cobwebs covered the stenciled markings that looked vaguely like eyes. 

“...I was...about to make myself some tea before you came in.” Jonathan said awkwardly. “I don’t suppose you’d like some.”

“Oh, goodness, no. Can’t stand the stuff.” Double Trouble said immediately. They were about to launch into a tirade on the evils of tea, but changed their mind. “But, uh, thank you for the offer, Jonathan.”

Jonathan looked slightly amused. “Jon is fine.”

Double Trouble considered this. “No thanks.”

“What?”

“No thanks. I like Jonathan more.”

“That’s...alright, fine.” Jonathan sighed. “Do you want anything to eat then?”

“Oh, I’m sure I’ll find some flies, but I wouldn’t hate it if you found something to share.” Double Trouble said.

Jonathan chuckled. Double Trouble did not. The chuckle died quickly.

“Alright then, I think...I think there’s something around here.” Jonathan said. “I’ll...find you here then?”

“Yes. Oh, and darling,” Double Trouble rolled over once again to face Jonathan, with some gleam back into their smile. “Don’t bother trying to poison me. I’m immune.”


	4. For Her Eyes Only

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some fun little hints dropped here in a fairly compact chapter. now we're gonna start to get some new faces :)))

Double Trouble gnawed vaguely on some kind of taste packaged food that Jon had scrouged up. “So you’re the only one down here?”

“Um, technically no,” Jon said. “There’s Basira and Melanie. But...well, Basira has a habit of running off to find...I’m not sure exactly. And Melanie sort of hates me.”

“What about this Martin?” Double Trouble asked. “You mentioned a Peter Lucas?” 

“A new boss,” Jon said. “He’s working with him now, and...is trying his best to avoid me.”

“Why?” Double Trouble asked, kicking their feet up on the desk. They had abandoned their hiding spot by now, relaxing in the rolling chair and occasionally spinning wildly in it until they felt nauseous.

“I...he won’t tell me.” Jon said reluctantly. 

“And you don’t want to use those powers because he’ll hate it,” Double Trouble said, a mischievous grin spreading on their face. “I see…”

Jon glanced up, but decided not to rise to the bait. “So you want to go back home, right?” 

“Obviously.” Double Trouble said, starting to spin again.

“I don’t suppose you know how to build a portal that doesn’t destroy everything?” Jon asked.

“If I did, don’t you think I would have started?” 

“Hm,” Jon said, tapping his fingers on the desk. “There has to be a way to find your home...is there anything that could help?”

“Fascinating question. Are you familiar with the First Ones or Horde Prime?” Double Trouble asked. 

“Ah...no.” Jon said.

“If you had been visited by Horde Prime, you’d know. The First Ones on the other hand…” Double Trouble stopped spinning.

“They’re these intergalactic colonists, as far as I know. I’m not an expert, but I know they’re fascinated with magic. They sort of...disappeared a long time ago. It’s not impossible that they visited your planet at some point.” Double Trouble grinned.

“Okay, okay,” Jon said, still somehow not surprised that alien imperialists were a thing now. “What else do you know about them?” 

“They were fascinated with combining magic with their tech. That’s what they did to my home. Etheria. They nearly destroyed it in the process though.” Double Trouble paused. “And, of course, She-Ra.”

“She-Ra?” Jon asked. 

“Their magical warrior,” Double Trouble shifted, and suddenly they were a muscular woman with long blonde hair who was at least eight feet tall, a dead serious expression on their face. “I’m not doing her justice, though.” The warrior woman said. 

“Oh.” Jon said in a small voice.

“It’s a title that’s passed down through them, as far as I can tell. She-Ra is given this magic sword, and once she says the magic words, she transforms into this. She’s got incredible strength, obviously, and the sword can shift between forms to make different weapons. She can heal, and she’s also, like, glows or something.” She-Ra disappeared, and Double Trouble was back. “Ring a bell?”

“I, uh, can’t say it does,” Jon said. This whole debacle was getting more complicated by the second. “There’s...nothing else you can tell me about the First Ones?”

“I’m really not an expert. If you find anything with crazy, freaky tech or strange writing, it might be them.” Double Trouble said.

“Strange writing?” Jon asked.

“Mhm. I only know one word. She-Ra.” Double Trouble said, grabbing a piece of paper and scribbling something. It almost looked like a constellation. “If you see that, that’ll be them. Careful about messing around, though, they booby trap everything.”

Jon squinted at the writing. Nothing came to him. “I can’t read it.” He said, suddenly frustrated. He _should_ be able to read it. Even if it was just one word, the stupid dots and lines refused to share their secrets. He was the Archivist, for God’s sake. That was his job.

Double Trouble looked at him strangely. “Yeah, I wouldn’t expect you too-oh, is it one of your things? Being able to read languages?” They shrugged. “I wouldn’t worry. It’s not like anyone can read it except for Adora.”

“Adora?” Jon asked. 

“She’s She-Ra.” Double Trouble explained. 

Jon didn’t respond, still staring at the writing as though it might suddenly come to him. Anger rose in him, and he resisted the urge to tear the paper. Anger suddenly gave way to a distant fear. How much of this frustration was his own, and how much was his patron’s, who was surely kicking and screaming at the writing that refused to cooperate. Or...whatever unholy beings did when they were angry. 

The suspiciously eye-like patterns on the ceiling seemed to glare.

“Alright then,” Jon said. “So...if I can find some instances of this First Ones tech, there’s a chance you might be able to get home?”

“Bingo.” Double Trouble said.

Jon decided not to question how Double Trouble knew the phrase ‘bingo’. “Alright, well…” He looked around. “There’s...a lot here. There might be a chance that one of these files has some instance of First Ones.”

Double Trouble looked around, a frown appearing on their face. “That’ll take years.”

“It’s that or sit around uselessly,” Jon said. “Unless you have a better idea.”

Double Trouble sighed deeply, glaring at the stacked files as though they had personally insulted them. “Fine.” They grabbed a random file, flipping through it. 

“Jonathan, I can’t read this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jon: Someone told me non-binary people don't exist-  
> *swings open the door to find double trouble draped across a desk like it's a grand piano*  
> -but I found this thing pretending to be my coworker-


	5. The Audition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> at work today (a thrift shop) i was just chilling and then I heard this music box and it got closer and farther away inconsistently for about five minutes, even though i was the only one in the store. so if i mysteriously disappear now yall will know why

“I got through this pile,” Double Trouble called out, surrounded by discarded files as if imprisoned. “What does this word mean? It keeps coming up.” They held up the file, pointing to the foreign symbols. 

Jon squinted. “Spider.”

“Aha.” Double Trouble said, scribbling the word into an ever growing sheet of translations for themself. ‘She-Ra’, ‘First Ones’, and ‘Etheria’ were there of course, as well as less pleasant words that had a running theme with many statements. “What’s the deal with spiders?”

“Well, they fall under one of the fear gods. The Web.” Jon said, finishing skimming a rather mundane and likely false statement. It was always a pleasant surprise to find a statement that could be debunked easily. It helped remind Jon that there were still some concrete things in the world.

“Spiders aren’t scary.” Double Trouble argued.

“There’s spiders on Etheria?”

“Well, not many. I think Entrapta’s mentioned robot spiders the First Ones made, but I don’t think those really count…” Double Trouble sighed. “We’ve been at this for hours, and we haven’t found anything even a little bit helpful.”

Jon rubbed his eyes. “It was a long shot. It’s entirely possible that your world has never had anything to do with mine.”

“There has to be something. Do you have any portal engineers we could speak with?” Double Trouble asked.

“Ah...none that come to mind,” Jon said reluctantly, picking up another file. A small photo slipped out, a black and white Polaroid, and he paused. It was blurry, but…

“Does this look familiar?” He offered the photo to Double Trouble, who took it eagerly. They squinted, trying to get a better look.

“I think...yes! Yes! That’s She-Ra!” Double Trouble practically jumped in excitement. The photo itself was of a grubby stained glass window, with a blonde woman brandishing a long sword. “What does the statement say?!”

Jon skimmed it, hoping to find something useful. Evidently it was a written statement Gertrude had taken sometime in the early 2000s. It detailed a construction site that had been hastily abandoned after the discovery of what was thought to be an ancient temple, except the temple had...well, the statement wasn’t clear. Something bad had happened inside, and people had seen a lot of things. Historians couldn’t seem to identify the ruins, and few people who went in came out.

The First Ones, if that was what it was, seemed very intent on keeping others out.

“I’m not sure. It’s some sort of ruined temple. There’s a few mentions of strange technology, but it’s mostly about...unpleasant happenings.” Jon said slowly. 

“This is She-Ra,” Double Trouble said with complete conviction. “I know it is. The First One’s were here.” 

_Why in the hell don’t we know about this?_ Jon wondered. “The site is in...Canada, it looks like. Ontario.”

“I don’t know where that is,” Double Trouble said. “Let’s go, let’s go, come on!”

“Wait, hold on a second,” Jon said quickly. “We can’t just leave. I don’t know how transportation works on your planet, but here it takes a while. Especially if we’re going far. And Ontario is far.”

“Then we better start leaving now!”

“I…” Jon sighed. “It’s more complicated than that.”

Double Trouble’s feverish excitement waned slightly. “Explain how.”

“I…” Jon wished desperately he had a cigarette. “I can’t just leave again. Basira is already off doing who knows what, and Melanie won’t want to be here alone. Can’t say I blame her.”

“So...that’s it?” Double Trouble said slowly. “There’s a perfect lead, but you’re not going to do anything?” 

“Look, last time I was gone for a long time, a lot of bad things happened. I think…” Jon paused. “I think whatever my...abilities are, they ward off other beings.”

“Then I’ll go.” Double Trouble said. 

“Alone? You have to know that will never work, even in disguise.” Jon said.

Double Trouble groaned. “I don’t know! Maybe?!” They looked desperate. “I just...really don’t want to be here.”

“I know, I know.” Jon said. “Maybe-”

“I’ll be you.” Double Trouble said suddenly.

Jon blinked. “Sorry?”

“I’ll be you. You said your abilities keep things away. I have abilities too. If they see what they think is you, and sense the magic, they’ll just assume it’s you and stay away.” Double Trouble said.

Jon wanted to object instantly on principle, but knew Double Trouble wouldn’t hear of it. “The others. They might notice.”

“Doubt it. You said Basira is away. And I haven’t seen any sign of Melanie. I just act like you, and they’ll never know. That way, you can go to On-ter-ee-oh.” Double Trouble said, pacing in excitement.

“It’s Ontario-look, it’s a bad idea. If someone finds you out, they’ll kill you.” Jon said.

“Goodness, your coworkers sound like a violent bunch. And I’m not helpless, Jonathan. I’ve fulfilled more difficult roles under more stressful circumstances. This’ll be a piece of cake.” Double Trouble grinned, and then froze. Footsteps were coming down the hall.

“Jon?” Melanie shouted, emerging around the corner. “What the hell is all this mess?”

“Melanie! I, ah-” Jon looked around wildly at the scattered papers. “I, uh, needed a reference, I-”

“And who’s that?” Melanie pointed at Double Trouble, but there was no fear in her eyes.

Jon turned and saw a young woman seated at his desk. She had short, dark hair and bright blue eyes, with the kind of freckles that made it look like someone had flicked a hairbrush at her. The woman smiled. “I’m Willow Willington. I’m here to record a statement. And you are…?” She said, in a perfectly normal voice.

“Uh. Melanie.” Melanie said, looking slightly confused.

“Willow” smiled brightly. “Pleasure to meet you.” She offered her hand.

Melanie shook the alien shapeshifter’s hand with no hesitation. 

“I...heard you talking to someone.” Melanie said to Jon.

“I was simply speaking to Ms. Willington.” Jon said.

“I...I thought I heard a different voice.” Melanie replied, glancing at Double Trouble.

“Oh, I’ve been coming down with a cold. That might be my fault.” They smiled kindly. “I hope I don’t make any of you sick. I suppose I should have waited…”

“What was your statement on?” Melanie said accusingly.

“Melanie-” Jon tried to say, but Double Trouble waved him off.

“Oh, I don’t mind. Maybe she can give me some advice. You see, there are these spiders. And I know, it sounds silly and trivial. But…” Double Trouble trailed off, a truly haunted look appearing on their face. “They...they’re everywhere. Multiplying day by day. And the more I do to get rid of them, the more appear. I can’t move without uncovering a nest.” They shuddered.

“You want my advice?” Melanie said in a deadpan voice. “Cover everything with kerosene and set it ablaze.”

“Melanie.” Jon said warningly.

Melanie shrugged. “She asked.”

“Ah...thank you,” Double Trouble said in a timid voice. “I’ll...take it under consideration.”

“Now, Melanie, if you don’t mind…” Jon said.

Melanie glanced at him, and then Double Trouble. “You sure there’s no one else here?”

“Positive.” Jon lied.

Melanie stared at him, and then slowly turned, returning to wherever she had been.

Jon let out a sigh of relief.

“So?” Double Trouble asked, shifting back to normal with a self satisfied grin. “How was my performance, darling? I’m open to any suggestions.”

“I can’t believe she bought it.” Jon said.

“You weren’t half bad yourself, Jonathan. If you ever quit the whole spooky archives thing, you should consider acting.” Double Trouble spun in their chair. “Well? Do you trust me to run this place while you look for answers?”

Nearly every single fiber in Jon’s body screamed _NO!_ Flashes of the mess he had returned to after the showdown with the Circus played through his mind like a perverse highlights reel. But the way Double Trouble had phrased it...answers. Looking for answers…

“...I’ll think about it.” Jon said quietly.

Double Trouble smiled wider than ever, showing off every single razor sharp tooth. “Tell me when the callbacks are. I’ll be practicing.”


	6. Opening Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally got a haircut now i no longer feel like a hag hiding in the woods

“And your interactions with Melanie?” Jon asked.

“I’ve seen her twice. You need to relax more.” Jon-or at least he looked like Jon-said into the phone, pretending to look over statements. 

Jon sighed, glancing at the clock. He had about fifteen minutes before he boarded the flight. He fought back a deep sigh. It felt like he was going on a wild goose chase again, but here there was at least a clear destination. All the same, flying was still an unpleasant experience.

“Are you absolutely positive you’ll be fine? It’s not too late to go back,” Jon said. “I wasn’t kidding. If you get caught, it will be very, very bad for you.”

“And I’ve told you, Jonathan. I’ll be fine. Seriously, you’re going to give yourself a headache with all this stress.” Double Trouble said.

“I already have,” Jon said. “Alright. I’ll try to call you when I land. Be careful, for the love of God.”

“I’m always careful. Toodles!”

“Don’t...don’t say toodles.”

“Don’t say it when I’m you or in general?”

“Both.”

*** *** ***

Double Trouble leaned back in their chair, resisting the urge to spin wildly. They were on the job now. And their job was to read and record statements in a written language they didn’t know. Which was...difficult.

There was a loud shuffling, and an ‘oomph’ like someone had hit stubbed their toe. Double Trouble perked up, glancing in the mirror quickly to make sure their costume was perfect. “Hello?”

They glanced out of the office, surprised to see Martin Blackwood himself, evidently having recovered from the puddle incident, looking at a knocked over pile of statements with some confusion. “Martin?” Double Trouble said, not having to feign surprise. Jonathan had told him it was nearly a certainty that they wouldn’t see Martin. Yet here the man was, looking sheepish.

“Sorry, I-I didn’t mean to disturb you. Peter Lucas just wanted...a statement.” Martin said vaguely. 

“A statement on what?” Double Trouble asked, hoping they wouldn’t need to pretend to know where everything was.

“On...a catastrophe.” Martin said lamely.

Double Trouble blinked. “That’s...nearly every other statement in here, Martin.”

Martin turned red. “I know, I know, just...I’ll look for it. Sorry to bother you.”

“You’re not bothering me.” Double Trouble said, a fun improv exercise coming to mind. Jonathan would probably object to it, but Jonathan wasn’t here, was he? “So…Peter Lucas, hm?”

Martin looked a mix between uncomfortable and exhausted. “Jon…”

“I know, I know,” Double Trouble relented. “We just...miss you down here.”

Martin gave him a look.

“I miss you.” Double Trouble corrected, giving themselves an invisible pat on the back when Martin looked away quickly. 

“I...I’m sorry. I just...it’s complicated.” Martin said. 

“It can’t be that bad. There’s been worse things.” Double Trouble said.

Martin sighed deeply. “Jon, I-”

A loud crash suddenly cut him off. Double Trouble jumped, startled and desperately hoping they didn’t have to fight off any monsters. Instead, to their relief, it appeared the source of the problem was a newly fallen stack of statements with a few recordings.

Double Trouble gave a nervous laugh. “Goodness...that was embarrassing.” 

Martin looked just as shaken, looking close to relieved laughter as well. “Uh...is there a reason everything is a bit...messy?”

“What? Oh, yes. I was looking for references for spiders. Because of, you know. The Web.” Double Trouble looked around at the mess. “I’ve been putting off fixing it.”

Martin looked confused. “The Web?”

“Yes,” Double Trouble said, committing to the lie and hoping it would pull through. “I’ve noticed more statements regarding it, and...well, you know. Wanted to look through some stuff to see if we’re missing anything.”

Martin was quiet. “Do you...think they’re going to attempt a ritual?”

Double Trouble shrugged. “Anything’s possible. I just want to be prepared.”

“Ah.” Martin said, an odd look on his face. “I’ll uh...leave you to it. Sorry again for the trouble.”

“It’s no trouble. Really.” Double Trouble said, unsure if they should smile or not. They settled for an awkward nod, going back into Jon’s office. 

There was silence, and then footsteps slowly grew farther and farther away until they disappeared. Double Trouble sighed in relief, and then grinned slightly, remembering Martin’s blushing face when they said they had missed him.

“And so the plot thickens.” They muttered to themselves. 

Really, they were doing Jonathan a service by setting this up for him. The man needed a life outside of this institute. And Double Trouble so adored romances.

*** *** ***

Jon really hadn’t expected the ancient, possibly deadly temple to turn into a tourist spot, but he supposed he shouldn’t have been surprised.

To be fair, visitors weren’t allowed inside the temple, but there were tours all going on all around it, with each tour guide pretending to be knowledgeable. Mostly, they just recounted the discovery of the temple, sans the parts about people being driven mad by what was inside, or simply never coming out. 

There was a cozy little gift shop too. 

“-historians believe that this was an ancient place of worship, but oddly, it seems to outdate any indigenoius populations that would have lived around here.” The tour guide was saying. Jon felt a bit out of place, seeing as most people came with their family, but no one seemed to pay him much mind. Which was good, as he was about to break the law a few times. 

He stalled, pretending to examine the broken architecture of the temple. Really, as far as ruins went, it wasn’t all too impressive. It sort of looked like a stone pyramid, but in far worse shape than the ones in Egypt. Strange scratches covered the outside, though Jon couldn’t tell if it was from weathering or if it was First Ones’ writing.

Or...something else, trying to get in.

He waited until the group was out of sight, and then quickly ducked between the caution tape, warning him the area was off-limits and protected by the federal government. He fumbled with his flashlight before turning it on, half-expecting to see robotic spiders, eyes glowing with artificial malice. 

Nothing but long shadows. And a very grumpy bat, which to Jon’s relief didn’t fly at him, merely looked at him with a scathing glare and turned away.

Jon took a deep breath, slowly walking into the temple. He heard a gentle whir, and glanced into his backpack. A running tape recorder, of course.

“I’m…” He paused, hoping he was whispering quietly enough. “I’m entering what I hope is a First Ones’ temple. Double Trouble said they’re usually booby trapped, and...I’m not exactly sure what I’m going to do if I run into a robotic spider, or the like…”

He paused, coming to a small entrance that he had to bend down to enter through. For a moment, he worried that he was entering a tunnel, but instead, it opened up into a massive room.

The instant he stepped inside, something slid shut behind him, trapping him inside. The room lit up in a flash of purple and blue, and Jon couldn’t hold in a shout of surprise. He looked around wildly, seeing glowing First Ones’ writing cover every inch of the room, and what looked like a control panel light up near a large platform. A stained glass window lit up like a beacon, and Jon saw the depiction of She-Ra.

He could understand what Double Trouble meant by being unable to do She-Ra justice. Even in an inanimate, artistic form, she looked like an unstoppable force, a symbol that was more than herself. 

“Oh my God.” Jonathan breathed. 

There was an acrid smell of smoke from his backpack, like burning plastic. Jon looked inside quickly, and froze. 

The tape recorder was on fire.

“Damn-” He dumped it out immediately, stomping desperately to try and snuff out the flames. Thankfully, it was a tiny fire, and it went out easily. But now he was left with a stamped tape recorder.

Jon shivered. Whatever was here didn’t want a recording.

The platform blinked, and a tall, holographic woman appeared. Jon stepped back. “Greeting, a-a-a-a-a-a-a-adminstrator.” She managed to stutter out, flickering in and out of existence. “What is your q-q-q-query?”

Jon blinked. “Sorry?”

The woman did not respond. “Administrator not d-d-d-d-detected,” She said, seeming to change her mind. “Password r-r-required.”

“What?!” Jon stepped back. “I don’t...uh, She-Ra!”

“Password r-r-r-required.” The hologram said again. 

“Oh, God. Uh, Etheria? Double Trouble?” He looked wildly at the writing on the wall, trying desperately to decipher it. Maybe if he tried hard enough…

Almost immediately, loud alarms blared, and the room turned an angry red. “Avatar d-d-detected,” The holographic woman said. “Initiating lockdown.”

“Wait, no-” Jon said desperately, but whatever he had done to lose favor with the temple, it was too late to stop it. The stone doors leading to other rooms slid shut, and the paneled floor began to fall away. 

Jon shouted, scrambling back. “Wait wait no! She-Ra! First Ones!” He said, still trying to guess the password. He should know it, the knowledge should just _come_ to him, but it didn’t. No, it simply refused too.

“No!” Jon tried to avoid the disappearing floor, but it was no use. He slipped, and fell down, down into the seemingly infinite darkness of the First Ones’ temple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love foreshadowing but i also hate it because if i tell yall like "look at this pay attention here" it ruins the effect
> 
> EDIT: STOP GIVING ME KUDOS IM AT 69 DONT RUIN IT GUYS


	7. A Seat at the Table

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WTF YALL HAD ONE JOB. KEEP THE KUDOS AT 69. AND WHAT DID YOU DO
> 
> okay but seriously, i cannot get over the support im getting for this story. thank you so much again
> 
> and before anyone asks, yes. that damn cat will make an appearance. i love the admiral too
> 
> also slight TW for gun violence

Melanie felt nauseous, and silently prayed to a God she did not believe in that she wouldn’t vomit. The bathroom was too far. She’d never make it.

She clutched the note tightly in her hand, trying desperately to contain her shaking. She forced herself to take a breath, trying to tell herself she had made a mistake. She had always been a fast reader, and she misread words almost on the daily because of it.

She forced herself to reread the note, scrawled out by a shaky, desperate hand.

THAT’S NOT JON.

She barely kept herself from vomiting.

A small, semi-rational part of her brain said this couldn’t be true. There was no way. It could be someone pulling a very cruel prank, or more likely, maybe an entity was trying to play mind games with her, to freak her out.

She hated to admit it, but it worked. 

The note was unsigned, casting more suspicion onto its origins. But maybe the writer wasn’t able to reveal their name for their own safety. Maybe they didn’t have time. Maybe...the thing that was pretending to be Jon got them before they could.

Awful tales of poor Sasha’s fate appeared to her unbidden, and she swallowed hard. That thing...could it have gotten Jon? Was that possible?

She let out a shaky breath, not having realized she had been holding it. She knelt down, digging around in a box that at first glance, appeared to contain only files.

Melanie had been surprised about how easy it had been to acquire a gun. Of course, Basira had called in a few favors, but it had still been shockingly easy to obtain this new weapon. She hadn’t had a chance or reason to use it yet, but...she’d feel safer investigating if she had it on her.

She wasn’t planning to just shoot Jon, of course. That would be stupid. Although it surprised her slightly to think about how easily she imagined it. 

Trying to stop herself from shaking, she forced herself to walk towards Jon’s office, listening for any strange sounds. All she heard was shuffling paper.

Peeking around the corner, she saw Jon sifting through papers quickly, eyes seeming to scan for something in particular before he placed the papers back in the file, moving onto the next one. 

Jon paused, and then turned, catching Melanie’s eye. She ducked away, but it was too late.

“Melanie? Is that you?”

Melanie grit her teeth and came out from behind the shelf, holding the gun behind her back. “Hey, Jon.” She said, trying to sound nonchalant.

“What are you doing here? You never-are you alright? You’re deathly pale.” Jon said, looking at her with sudden scrutiny. 

Melanie forced a weak smile, gripping the gun so tightly her knuckles hurt. “Oh, I’m alright. You know, just haven’t really been outside. For, a long time.”

“...right.” Jon said, looking unsure.

“...still looking for spider stuff?” Melanie asked.

Jon looked at the folder in his hands, as though he had forgotten about it. “Ah! Yes. I really do need to clean this all up, I got a bit carried away.”

“Haven’t heard you record a statement in a bit.” Melanie said.

“...you’re on the other side of the archives, most of the time.” Jon said, sounding almost...careful. Like he wasn’t sure what to say or else he might set her off. Although to be fair, Jon usually did that. “I doubt you could have heard me.”

“I usually hear something.” Melanie said.

Jon was quiet for what seemed like an eternity. “...is there something I can help you with?”

“I...had to ask you something.” Melanie said, and then stopped.

“...alright? What is it?” Jon prompted.

“I…” For a second, Melanie considered holding a gun to his head and screaming at him to confess until he did so, and then blowing his brains out. But...she didn’t have enough evidence. Hell, she didn’t have any evidence. “I forgot.”

Jon looked her over, as if concerned. “Well,” He said, turning back to the files. “If you forgot, it can’t have been that important.”

“Yeah,” Melanie said, her grip on the gun loosening. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

*** *** *** 

Jon jolted up with a surprised cry, fumbling for his flashlight and backpack. He didn’t need to. The flashlight was still in his hand, and his backpack was still on her back. 

He...was back in the archives. Except...they were wrong, somehow. Better lit, at least. No shadows that seemed to move when you weren’t focused on them. No faint smell of dust and endless paper. No gentle whirring of a tape recorder, nestled just out of sight. No...no eyes on him.

He looked up. The geometric patterns of unblinking eyes that normally covered the ceiling were gone, replaced with a bland, gray paint. 

“You cheated! I know you did!” A playfully accusing voice rang around the corner, and Jon stumbled back. It was impossible. It had to be.

“Stop it, you great oaf, I know you’re counting cards or something!” Sasha’s voice rang out.

“That’s blackjack. You just have bad luck.” Jon barely kept himself from gasping when he heard Tim, equally amused, clearly winning at some game.

Gritting his teeth, Jon forced himself to walk towards the voice. 

Sasha and Tim were sitting at a table, a pile of coins and small paper bills between them. Tim’s pile was far larger than Sasha’s, and she was glaring at Tim, whose face was unscarred and smiling. “Oh, wipe that dumb grin off your face. It’ll get stuck like that one day.”

“Not my fault you’re a sore loser-oh, hey Jon!” Tim noticed him, waving. “Why are you creeping around?”

“I-” Jon started but Sasha looked excited.

“Oh thank God! I’m going to kill myself if I have to play with this idiot any longer. Come on, we’ll deal you in.” She gestured to a chair that Jon wasn’t sure was there before. 

“...where’s Martin?” Jon asked, heart hammering.

“Martin? He’ll join us soon, I’m sure.” Sasha leaned forward, a conspiratorial grin on her face. “Between you and me, he can’t bluff to save his life.”

“Are you gonna just stand there or what?” Tim asked. 

“This…” A smaller part of Jon, the one who was exhausted and heartsick, literally begged to just sit down. So many awful things had happened, and it scared Jon how desensitized he was to it. He knew he wasn’t entirely human (and he was starting to wonder if he ever was) but...there had to be something left, right? He wasn’t a monster, listening only to his patron’s whims. Not like Helen or any of the others...not yet.

But…

“This isn’t real.” Jon said to himself. It physically hurt to say that. “This...you’re dead. You both are.”

Tim looked confused. “Are you feeling alright Jon? I know you’ve been working overtime a lot lately, but this is a bit much.”

“You’re both dead. This is some kind of...of illusion.” Jon insisted. He backed away.

“Jon-” Sasha stood up.

“Get back! Stay away from me!” Jon said, starting to feel very afraid. He backed into something and whirled around.

Elias stood there, looking taller, staring at Jon with a look that could only be described as disappointment. He looked at Sasha and Tim behind Jon, and nodded.

Jon whirled back around and nearly screamed. The archives were dark and shadowy again, and the smell of dust was nearly suffocating. Sasha and Tim were gone, replaced by a long, pale evil thing and a mangled mannequin. 

“Bad decisions, Jon.” The pale thing said in a distorted voice that sounded a bit like Sasha’s. “Why would you kill us?”

“I-I didn’t.” Jon protested, but it sounded weak even to him. 

“You didn’t pull the trigger. But you loaded it and gave it to the ones who would.” Tim said, his plastic jaw moving and then falling off. 

“No-” Jon tried to protest, but the images of his long dead coworkers suddenly faded away. A hologram. 

Dozens of glowing red eyes appeared one by one out of the darkness. There was a squeaking sound, and a huge, rusted spider emerged out of the darkness, mandibles foaming with a bubbly green fluid. It clicked it’s metal jaws together, and more appeared from behind it.

Jon took a shaky breath. 

“Shit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dt: mom said it's my turn to use the angst


	8. Blindside Protocol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just want yall to know i almost published this with a full explanation. but then i changed my mind :)

Jon was fairly sure this temple was far larger on the inside than it was on the outside. 

He had been running for a long time through glowing tunnels covered in First Ones’ writing, chased behind by spiders that jerked and squeaked with each movement. Distantly he realized he would likely never find his way out of this labyrinth now, but he had more pressing problems.

Jon ducked into a larger, empty room, noticing a large red button next to the door opening. He slammed it, desperate.

A sliding door began to come down, about to put space between him and the spiders, but it stalled, cracking and sprinkling dust into the room. The spiders drew closer, their beady red eyes suddenly visible in the gloom. 

“Shit shit shit-” Jon said, pressing the button again and again. The doorway groaned under the pressure of the repeated commands, and then broke into several pieces, blocking the entrance from the spiders. 

Of course, it also blocked all ways out.

Jon let out a shaky breath, only to jump as the same holographic woman from the room before appeared. “Greetings, ad-administrator.” She stuttered. “What is your q-q-q-query?”

“You again.” Jon muttered, looking around. This room seemed similar to the last one, except...more organized, somehow. Like the decay hadn’t quite reached it yet. In the control pads, small magenta crystal sparkled. 

Data crystals. Like Double Trouble had told them. 

“What is your q-q-q-query?” The woman asked again. 

“Er...what’s the way out?” Jon tried, hoping he wouldn’t trigger any alarms. 

“Administrator detected. Identification r-r-required.” The woman said. 

“Damn.” Jon muttered. “She-Ra.”

“Identification r-r-r-required.” The woman said again. 

Why did she name him as an administrator?

Jon got a desperate idea. He had a feeling that if this idea went wrong, he wouldn’t leave this place. “...Jonathan Simms. Head Archivist.”

“Welcome, A-a-archivist.” The woman said. The room lit up more, and the writing covered every last square inch of the place. “What is your q-q-q-query?”

“Wha-why am I an administrator?” Jon asked.

“The current Archivist is a-a-automatically given administrator access. This was granted to them by the o-o-o-o-o-other administrator.” The woman explained.

“Who’s the other administrator?” Jon asked.

“S-s-s-she-Ra.”

“Right.” Jon said softly. Just a moment this place had tried to kill him. Why was he an administrator to a place he had never been? Why was the Archivist allowed in what he presumed to be a secret place?

 _Focus, Jon,_ He told himself. “Am I...allowed to take these?” He motioned to the data crystals. 

“There is n-n-n-no protocol against it.” The woman said.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Carefully, Jon crept to the small crystals, taking the three. They offered a slight resistance to being taken out, but clicked once Jon managed to dislodge them as if unbuckling a seatbelt. He stowed them carefully in his bag.

“Is there...a backdoor out of this place or something?” Jon asked.

“I w-w-will open the exit.” The woman said. “Can I be of f-f-f-further assistance?”

“...what happened here?” Jon asked quietly.

“I’m s-s-s-sorry, but that information is c-c-classified to you.” The woman said.

“What? Why grant me administrator access if you’re just going to hide things from me?!” Jon demanded.

“I am s-s-s-sorry, but for the Archivist, i-i-i-information of that kind is kept under the ‘Blindside P-p-p-p-p-p-protocol.” The woman said.

“What’s the Blindside Protocol?” Jon asked.

“I’m s-s-s-sorry, but that information is c-c-c-classified to you.” The woman repeated.

“Of course it is.” Jon said. “Is there anything you can tell me?”

The woman paused, seeming to try and think of something. “The p-p-p-person who built this place built it f-f-f-for you.”

Jon blinked. “What?”

“They care about you v-v-v-very much, and they want you and your l-l-l-loved ones to be safe.” The woman explained. “They b-b-b-believe the less you know, the b-b-b-better.”

“Great.” Jon muttered, but the explanation did puzzle him. Sure, he was no stranger to being kept in the dark, but when Elias did it, it was all part of some twisted mix of a game and a test. There had never once been any care involved. 

“...why do you care about me?” Jon asked.

“I’m sorry, but-”

“Yes, yes, classified, alright.” Jon sighed. “Can you open that door for me?”

“Y-y-y-yes, Archivist.” The woman said. A stone wall slid up, revealing a large tunnel, illuminated by illegible handwriting. “Is there anything else I can a-a-a-a-a-assist you with?”

“...no,” Jon said quietly. “I’m ready to go home.”

*** *** ***

Melanie would never admit that she had been waiting outside Jon’s office for hours, still gripping the gun.

But here she was, crouched uncomfortably behind the shelves, listening to him go through papers, write things down, and...just go about his day.

But he never recorded a statement.

His desk phone rang, a piercing noise that made Melanie jump more than she would like to admit. Jon answered a second later. “Hello?” He asked, and waited. “Ah, one moment…”

Melanie heard the door shut.

As far as she knew, Jon never shut the door. Not even when recording a statement. 

Melanie crept up to the door, pressing her ear against it. She could just barely hear Jon moving around inside.

“Oh, you got something?” A voice asked. Melanie barely stifled a gasp. 

It was the same voice that she had heard Jon talking to a few days before. When he was with that Willow woman.

“When do you think you’ll be back?” The voice asked again. There were few beats of silence. Melanie couldn’t hear whoever was on the phone at all. “Oh, good, I-no, I’m fine, darling. Quit worrying. No one suspects a thing.”

Melanie gripped the gun tightly in her shaking hands.

“Alright, I’ll see you soon. Safe travels, darling. Mwah.” The thing pretending to be her boss sent what she assumed to be a send off kiss to the person on the other end, and then hung up. She heard footsteps approaching the door, felt the doorknob turn-

When the mimic creature opened the door, it was still wearing Jon’s face, and it was staring down the barrel of a handgun.

“Don’t move, or I’ll shoot.” Melanie growled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i watched poltergeist last night and i loved it but like that damn clown-  
> like i knew it was coming i had watched that scene in an analysis video before but lemme tell you when that fucker popped up i screamed like a little bitch


	9. Go Out With a Bang

Double Trouble froze instantly, heart stuttering for a moment.

“Melanie-” They tried to say, but went quiet when they saw Melanie's hand shake violently.

“Don’t,” She warned in a soft voice. “Don’t...don’t lie to me. Don’t lie to me or I swear I’ll blow your damn head off.”

“Melanie, you’re not making any sense-” Double Trouble tried to say, but jumped when Melanie’s finger got twitchy on the trigger.

“Stop it! What the hell are you?! Where’s Jon?! Tell me NOW.” She snapped, voice bordering on hysteria.

“Okay okay!” Double Trouble said, trying desperately to think of a way out. “Just...just calm down. I’m not going to hurt you.”

Melanie gave a choked laugh. 

“Just...take a breath and tell me what makes you think I’m not Jon.” Double Trouble said. 

“Don’t you...don’t you fucking _dare_ try and make me think I’m going crazy!” Melanie shouted. “I heard you! You’re that...that voice from the other day!”

“Melanie!” Double Trouble backed up, suddenly aware they were cornering themselves. They stopped, and took a breath. “What do you want?”

“I want the truth.” Melanie snapped. 

“Okay,” Double Trouble said, their hands up. An inkling of a plan began to form in their mind. They’d have to be fast. “Okay, there's a tape in the cabinet next to you. I’m going to get it out, and it’ll explain everything.”

“Did you kill Jon?” Melanie asked.

“No.” Double Trouble said, resisting the urge to rant about everyone assuming they were murderous. Now was not the time. 

“Stop...stop looking like him. Show me what you are.” Melanie demanded, a quaver in her voice.

“I...really don’t think that’s a good idea,” Double Trouble said. “You’re not going to like it.”

“Do it.” Melanie demanded.

“Look, let me get the tape. And then I will. I promise.” Double Trouble said. 

“I’ll get the tape.” Melanie snapped.

“They’re unlabeled.” Double Trouble lied. 

All Melanie had to do was open the drawer closest to her, and she would see the drawer was only filled with office supplies. Double Trouble doubted she would let them live if she saw the lie.

But Melanie stared at them, and then nodded. “Go slow.” She ordered.

Double Trouble nodded, inching forward at sloth speeds to the drawers. “I don’t want to hurt you, Melanie,” They said. “I didn’t do anything to Jon.”

“Then where is he?” Melanie demanded.

“Canada,” Double Trouble said, opening the drawer slowly. “Sorry.”

They let part of their costume drop; just their tail. Melanie glanced down, and began to open her mouth, though whether to scream or ask a question, Double Trouble didn’t know.

They dropped low to the ground, swinging their tail around and knocking Melanie off her feet with a sharp cry of alarm. Then they took off, sprinting towards the exit.

There was an impossible loud **BANG** , and there seemed to be a tiny explosion on the wall inches from Double Trouble’s head. They shrieked in alarm, darting away from the exit and deeper into the archives.

They ducked behind a shelf and dropped their costume, trying not to pant. 

A slightly unhinged woman was after them, and all they had for cover was shelves. 

This was _so_ embarrassing. 

The exit for the archives wasn’t far. If they could find a way to distract Melanie, they might be able to make a run for it…

And then Melanie appeared around the corner.

Double Trouble reacted without thinking, swinging their right arm as hard as they could. The fist hit home, and Melanie yelped before falling to the ground, groaning in shock and pain.

“Oh!” Double Trouble said, startled. They kicked the gun away, as it had fallen from Melanie’s grip. “Oh no no no, I’m...I’m so sorry darling. I mean, I’m not. You were trying to kill me, but I mean...oh, goodness are you alright?”

Melanie looked up, and gasped in horror, scrambling back until her back hit the shelf. “W...what the hell…?!” She breathed, horrified.

“I really didn’t want to hurt you, darling,” Double Trouble said, hands on their hips. “Still don’t. But I can see when I’m not welcome.”

They stepped back, starting to edge towards the exit. “When you see Jonathan, tell him-”

There was a shocked scream, and three more awful **BANGS**. Double Trouble didn’t bother looking to see where they had come from, just turning and running as fast as they could, only bothering to shift into Jonathan before they left the archives and entered the main institute.

It was only when they were alone did they realize there was a blinding pain in their stomach, and a warm liquid was seeping through their shirt. 

*** *** ***

It was a dark and stormy night.

Georgie Barker smiled a bit to herself at the description. It was true, of course. Clouds covered the sky so that by early evening it could have been midnight, and fat raindrops fell from the sky, flooding the streets while the lightning and thunder waged war. 

Georgie had always liked heavy rain, especially at night. It was relaxing, and falling asleep to the sound of it hitting the roof was like a sedative.

What was not pleasant was walking home.

Georgie didn’t own a car. There was never a need to, as she lived only a few minutes away from her workplace. And she liked walking anyway. A coworker had offered to give her a ride, but Gerogie had declined, not realizing how bad the rain was until she was already in it.

Soaked to the bone even with an umbrella, Gerogie would later wonder how she managed to hear the moans of pain echoing from an alley.

She knew, in theory, it would have been smarter to keep moving. It could be a trap. It was probably a trap. But she saw someone lying lifelessly on the ground in the pouring rain, and knew she would never forgive herself if she kept walking.

She crept forward, eyes peeled for hiding assaulters. “Hello?” She called.

“Stay a-away!” The person on the ground yelped, voice filled with pain and fear.

“Oh my God!” She gasped, rushing forward. 

Jon tried to sit up and push her away. “Stay away-”

“Jon, Jon it’s me. Georgie. Oh God…” She put her hand up to her mouth in shock when she saw the massive bloodstain on his shirt. “What the hell happened?”

“Georgie?” Jon asked, almost as if considering the name. “Yes, I...had a bit of an accident with a gun.”

“Oh my God. We have to get you to the hospital-” Georgie stood up, but Jon grabbed her wrist. His hand was freezing.

“No!” Jon blurted out desperately. “No, please...just…” He trailed off, squeezing his eyes shut and gritting his teeth as another wave of pain seemed to hit him. 

“Okay, okay, fine. I’ll...I’ll take you back to my flat. Is that alright?” Georgie asked. Jon nodded. “Do you think you can stand if I help you?” She asked.

“I...yes. I think so.” Jon said slowly.

Georgie grabbed his arm, trying to ignore the unnatural coldness of it. She pulled Jon to his feet, trying not to hear the hoarse cry that sounded like it came from someone else. “Thank you.” Jon managed to gasp.

“What the hell happened to you?” Georgie asked. 

“Explain...later. I promise.” Jon said, voice starting to slur slightly. At least, that’s what Georgie assumed. It more so sounded like another voice entirely was mixing into his, causing the words to bleed together.

“Okay, okay…” Georgie said, helping Jon hobble along, her umbrella long forgotten, now only focused on making sure he didn’t die on his way to her flat.

That focus made it easy to ignore other things. Jon’s coldness, for one. Also the fact that in the dim light, his skin seemed marred by something that almost looked like scales. His eyes seemed to be too big and an odd color. And he kept muttering something to himself. Georgie couldn’t make it out, but it sounded like he was saying “Keep it together.”

“Almost there. “ Georgie assured him, barely managing to get up the steps. Thank God she lived on the first floor. 

She entered the flat, hearing the Admiral meow loudly in greeting, trodding forward to meet them. “Alright Jon, let’s-” Georgie looked at Jon and froze in shock. The strange scars weren’t scars at all. Rather, his body was covered in pea-colored scales, and when he looked up at Georgie, his eyes were reptilian. 

Georgie instantly pushed Jon-or whatever this thing was-away from herself. It stumbled, barely managing to catch it’s footing, and looked at it’s scaled hands as if surprised.

It looked at Georgie. “Sorry.” It slurred in a voice that was not Jon’s. A strange, shadowy blackness surrounded it, and when the blackness disappeared...something stood there, blue blood gushing from the gunshot wound in it’s stomach.

“I just wanted to get out of the rain.” It said. 

The Admiral meowed loudly, and the creature collapsed into a pathetic pile of blood and scales.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the freaking cat is here are yall happy


	10. The Admiral

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sis just had a R O U G H dnd session today

Martin had been walking around for a day, feeling constantly sick. 

That hadn’t been Jon. It looked like Jon. It acted exactly like Jon. It even had Jon’s quiet kindness, the way he was always just a little bit unsure wherever he talked to others, as if always worried he would say the wrong thing.

But it wasn’t Jon.

He had been shaking when he delivered the unsigned note to Melanie, setting it gently among her cluttered space and sneaking out before Peter Lucas could notice. 

And then he waited. 

There were whispers later on that Jon had been seen running from the institute in a tizzy, to say the least. And he had not returned for the rest of the day. 

So Martin wasn’t sure why he was carefully making his way down to the archives now. Maybe to check and see if it was true. Maybe to make sure Melanie was alright. Maybe...well, he didn’t really know why he needed to see for himself. But he did.

“Hello?” Martin called.

There was silence. The lights were off. 

Martin flicked the lightswitch up and down, but nothing happened. “Hello? Melanie?” 

Still nothing.

“Anyone?” Martin called, carefully creeping into the archives, fumbling for his phone and turning on the flashlight. If anything, this made him feel worse. The dim light cast shadows that made it look like figures reaching out for him.

“Hello?” Martin called again, and heard a low growl behind him. 

He whirled around, and managed to see a maroon cat-like creature with a hazy blue, lionlike mane. It was about the size of a lion too, and it was crouched a few feet away from Martin, preparing to leap.

Martin shrieked, taking off down the hall. As if breaking the stillness, the archives exploded into a flurry of shouts and flashing lights. Something whizzed past Martin’s ear, and he stumbled, blinded by the commotion. 

Something tackled him, and Martin thrashed, trying to fight off his attacker. “GET OFF! GET OFF!”

He felt himself picked up and slammed against the wall. Something stung his side sharply, and he gasped, trying to get away-

And then everything went black.

*** *** ***

There was a combination of factors that woke Double Trouble. 

First, their side throbbed painfully with each breath. Vaguely, they knew it was due to some events from last night, but they couldn’t say exactly why it hurt so much less.

Second, sunlight was streaming through the window and hitting Double Trouble in the eyes. They supposed if they were back home, they would hear birds and such chirping loudly outside. But instead they were those awful machines that plowed through the street and honked rudely if you stood too close to them.

Lastly, there was something vibrating on their chest.

Double Trouble forced their eyes open and saw a strange, orange and white creature sitting on their chest, it’s eyes closed in relaxation. It was making a strange noise that seemed to be the source of the vibration. It reminded them of Catra. But smaller. And less...angry.

“Hello.” Double Trouble said, unsure. The creature blinked it’s eyes open, staring at Double Trouble with green-yellow eyes. It stood up, stretching for a moment before rubbing it’s head against Double Trouble's cheek, the vibrating noise only getting louder. 

They laughed nervously. “Can I help you?” 

The creature did not respond. 

“Hey!” A woman’s voice said, grabbing the creature and dropping it on the ground. She glared at Double Trouble, holding a large knife. “What are you?” She demanded, voice steely.

Double Trouble grinned, starting to sit up, but froze with a sharp gasp as pain shot through their side. “Ow ow ow ow…” They muttered, gritting their teeth. They suddenly realized their wrists and legs were bound tightly. “Goodness, isn’t this overkill?”

“What. Are. You?” She said again. She would have looked fairly intimidating if the creature hadn’t been weaving between her legs. 

“It’s not a what, darling. It’s a who. Name’s Double Trouble. And you are…” Double Trouble said.

“Why were you pretending to be Jon?” She asked.

“Why did you save me even after you knew I wasn’t?” Double Trouble retorted.

The woman paused, and then held the knife out threateningly. “Answer my question.” 

“Or what? You’ll stab me?” Double Trouble asked. They wriggled, managing to free their wrists.

The woman looked shocked. “How did you-”

“One moment, darling.” Double Trouble carefully sat up, wincing when their wound stung painfully. “You did a good job bandaging me, I’ll give you that.” They started undoing the restraints on their ankles.

“Stop that. Or I’ll-” The woman paused when Double Trouble laughed.

“Or what? You’ll kill me? I know people, darling. And I know that you’re not a killer.” They managed to free their ankles, and smiled at the woman. “And as for pretending to be Jonathan, I didn’t kill him. I was merely replacing him while he went on an investigation in Canada.”

“Canada?” The woman asked.

“Now. I believe you at least owe me your name. I know you told me last night, but that’s all a bit hazy...it was a two-syllable one, I know that…” Double Trouble trailed off.

The woman looked conflicted for a moment, and then sighed. “Georgie.”

“There! Wonderful to meet you Georgie! And you are…?” They looked to the creature, who was now lying in a patch of sunlight on the carpet. 

Georgie blinked. “That’s...my cat. The Admiral.”

“Oh! I’m so sorry, I had no idea.” Double Trouble quickly saluted the cat. “Thank you for your service.”

The Admiral glanced up at Double Trouble, and then went back to napping in the sun.

Georgie blinked. “You...really didn’t kill Jon?”

“Oh, no. Feel free to call him now if you don’t believe me. He should be back home by now.” Double Trouble said, managing to sit up. “Why did you help me?”

Georgie shrugged. “I dunno. I was curious about what you are. I figured if you tried to hurt me, I would…” She pantomimed stabbing. “I know there’s...strange things out there. And I figured you were more use alive than dead.”

“Aw,” Double Trouble grinned. “How sweet. So how do you know dear Jonathan?”

Georgie coughed, slightly embarrassed. “It’s...complicated.”

Double Trouble’s eyes lit up. “Ooh, a breakup?! Was it messy?! Was it emotional?!”

“How did-no.” Georgie snapped.

Double Trouble cackled. “Oh, it was a breakup! Oh, I hope for your sake there’s no feelings left over. That would be awkward considering Martin…” They broke off into mischievous giggles. “Oh, but I shouldn’t say…” They trailed off, baiting Georgie into gossip.

“Then don’t say anything.” Georgie said flatly.

Double Trouble’s face fell.

“I’m calling Jon. If you’re lying…” Georgie brandished the knife, but Double Trouble just rolled their eyes.

“Yes, yes, you’ll gut me like a fish. I really don’t think I’m in much shape to go anywhere.” They said, lying back on the couch.

“...good.” Georgie said, still entirely unsure what to make of this strange creature. She supposed they weren’t a threat she needed to track, though she supposed her judgment could be off. 

She rushed back to her room, searching for her cell phone, and heard the Admiral meow and Double Trouble start to nervously tell the cat to back off.

“Oh, no, Admiral, please. I’m in a rather delicate state, I don’t think it’s wise to jump on me now. I-OW!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i heard that noelle sometimes reads fanfics of she ra and if i ever found out someone even slightly associated with the media piece i was writing about read my work, i would simply choose to pass away


	11. The Fear of Snakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i JUST managed to squeeze out a third chapter

Jon knew full well he was recklessly speeding back to Georgie’s flat, but he didn’t really care.

His calls to the archives had gone unanswered when he had landed, which was the first time he realized he may have made a grave mistake in leaving the archives in the care of a shapeshifting space alien prone to chaos. 

The anxiety directed towards his coworkers dissipated once Georgie called, but it also meant something bad had happened to make Double Trouble flee.

“Are you alright?” Jon asked breathlessly. “Is the-”

“The Admiral and I are both fine. I think he’s made a new friend, actually.” Georgie had said.

“And Double Trouble…?” Jon asked.

There had been silence on the phone for a long time. “Maybe...maybe you should just come over.”

So that was why Jon was driving like a maniac while Daisy yelled at him to slow down and stop swerving. 

“You haven’t even told me what you found-brake brake brake!” Daisy lurched painfully forward as the tiny silver Kia Soul screamed to a stop, inches from the car in front of them.

“Christ,” Jon muttered, looking around for an opening to zoom through. “There’s got to be a shorter way-”

“Don’t.” Daisy said, blue eyes wide. “Just...if you’re going to drive like you have a death wish, let me drive. Why the hell did you pick me up in such a hurry?”

“I…” Jon sighed. “You told me I needed to start telling you things. And...there’s been a...thing I’ve been trying to hide.”

Daisy looked suspicious. “Is it...deadly and you need emergency help dealing with it?”

“What?” Jon said. “No! It...well, it’s someone.”

“Someone.” Daisy repeated.

“Yes,” Jon said. “And...they’re not human.”

Daisy blinked. “So...one of those things? The fear monsters or whatever they are?”

“No no, that’s the thing,” Jon said. “They...they aren’t human. But they don’t have any sort of patron.”

Daisy scoffed. “What, so like an alien or something?”

“Yes.” Jon said flatly, giving a sigh of relief when the traffic light finally turned green and they could continue on.

Daisy was quiet for a while. “...is this some sort of joke?”

“What? No! They’re some kind of alien. And they needed help getting home. So I kind of...took off to find some answers. And...well, they got found and driven out. A...an old friend of mine managed to find them.” Jon said.

Daisy sighed. “Only you could get sucked into some weird E.T sequel. Did you...find anything? Where did you go?”

“Canada,” Jon said. “And I think I did. They mentioned this thing called First Ones. They’re like...alien imperialists, I suppose. Apparently they came here at one point, and they left a ruined temple. I took some stuff I thought would be able to help.”

“First Ones?” Daisy asked. “How would we have never known about this?”

“I don’t know.”

“Jon…”

“No, Daisy. I don’t know,” Jon took a hard left, ignoring the blaring horn of the person he had cut off. “When I was in the temple I...tried to use...you know. My powers. But when I did, it was like the place retaliated. I almost got eaten by giant metal spiders.”

“And you know what else was strange,” Jon said, half to himself. “Was that for the first time in...years actually, I didn’t feel like I was being watched. Like I was alone, and hidden.”

“Creepy.” Daisy said.

Jon didn’t answer.

“Daisy, I…” Jon paused. “I need to know you aren’t going to hurt them.”

“I won’t.” Daisy said immediately.

“I know, but they’re not like the others. I have no idea how the Hunt is going to react to them. If they’ll even react at all,” Jon said. “Just...they’re really harmless. A little annoying, but harmless.”

“I’ll be fine.” Daisy insisted, and Jon silently hoped it would be true.

*** *** ***

Jon knocked on the door, already feeling awkward. He suddenly wondered if this was what divorced parents felt like, shuttling their child between each other while trying to keep chaos at a minimum. The thought made him smile.

Georgie opened the door, looking less than impressed, as she usually did.

“You cut your hair.” Jon blurted out, noticing her dark hair only fell to her shoulders now.

“I did.” Georgie agreed.

Jon was quiet for a long moment. “...it looks nice.” He said.

Georgie glanced at Daisy. “Who’s this?”

“Oh, uh, Georgie, this is Daisy. She’s, um...a coworker, I suppose.” Jon said.

Daisy nodded. “Nice to meet you.”

“Come on in. I was just making tea. Want any?” Georgie asked, stepping aside so they could enter.

“Oh, sure. Where is…” Jon trailed off.

Georgie jerked her head to the other room. “They’re on the couch. So’s the Admiral, in case you were wondering.”

Jon had been wondering that, but would never admit it. 

“Thank you.” He motioned to Daisy to follow, and they entered the other room, where the TV was playing some movie that Jon didn’t recognize. 

Double Trouble didn’t see them at first, stretched out on the couch, paying rapt attention to the TV. Their midsection was covered in bandages, and they were holding the Admiral tightly. The cat meowed when he saw Jon, wriggling out of Double Trouble’s grip to go greet him.

Double Trouble glanced up and grinned. “Jonathan, darling, so lovely to see you!” 

Jon glanced nervously at Daisy, who hung back, face naked with shock and fear. Double Trouble glanced at her. “Aren’t you going to introduce me?” They asked.

“Right,” Jon said nervously, picking up the Admiral. “Daisy, this is Double Trouble. The...acquaintance I was telling you about.”

“Acquaintance?!” Double Trouble protested. “I thought we were friends by now! Like me and Georgie! Georgie, aren’t we friends?!”

“We are not.” Georgie called from the kitchen.

Double Trouble scowled, then refocused their attention on Daisy. “Lovely to meet you Daisy. Now, how do you know Jonathan?”

“Oh my God.” Daisy said in a small voice. 

Double Trouble sighed. “Oh, don’t worry. I’m getting used to the shock and horror.”

“Are you alright?” Jon asked.

“Oh, I’m just fine. Had a little scuffle with Melanie, but your ex managed to patch me up just fine.” Double Trouble smiled widely when Jon’s face went red.

“Ex-why would you tell them that?!” Jon shouted to Georgie.

“I didn’t,” Georgie said grimly, emerging with three cups of tea. “They figured it out.”

“God, could you be any more insufferable?” Jon asked.

“Just say the word, darling.” Double Trouble winked, and then glanced at Daisy. “Your friend is looking a bit pale there.”

Jon whirled around, seeing Daisy was indeed deathly pale, her hands in her coat pockets. The outline was unmistakably that of a fist. “Daisy…” Jon said.

“I’m fine,” Daisy said shortly. “I just...need a minute. I’ll wait in the car.” She walked stiffly out of the flat, the closing door piercing the silence like a gunshot.

Double Trouble tilted their head. “Was it something I said?”

“You really need to learn when to hold back.” Jon said, setting the Admiral down and taking the tea.

“I didn’t do anything.” Double Trouble protested.

“You don’t seem to understand how scary you are. Especially to people who have dealt with things that are like you but far less reasonable,” Jon said. “For God’s sake, you’ve got snake eyes and shark teeth. You’re covered in snakeskin. You can change into other people and pretend to be them flawlessly.”

“You think I’m flawless?” Double Trouble cooed.

Jon glared. “Can you take this seriously?! We’re not in Etheria. People here can’t do the things you do. They don’t look like you. You’re in a world where nearly everything you are scares most people and you need to start acting like it!”

Double Trouble blinked, surprised at the outburst. They glanced at Georgie. “You weren’t afraid of me.”

“I’m a special case,” She said. “And if I wasn’t, I would be very, very scared of you.”

“Hell, I’m still afraid of you,” Jon said. “And I know you’re harmless.”

“You are?” Double Trouble said, sounding upset. 

The Admiral meowed, jumping back onto Double Trouble. They flinched, absently reaching out and scratching the cat’s ears. The Admiral purred.

“I’m not evil.” Double Trouble insisted.

“People don’t know that,” Jon said. “Honestly, I don’t think it’s entirely safe for you to go back to the archives even if I explain everything to Melanie. But there’s really nowhere else for you.”

“They could stay here.” Georgie said.

Jon looked at her, shocked. “What? Georgie, I can’t ask for you to do that-”

“You didn’t ask. I’m volunteering.” Georgie said.

“Plot twist.” Double Trouble muttered. 

“It’s not safe, what if-” Jon started, but Georgie cut him off.

“You seem to think they’re harmless, and I trust your judgement.” Georgie said.

“I…” Jon glanced at Double Trouble, who shrugged. “I...are you sure?”

“Positive. Just until we can find them somewhere better to go.” Georgie said.

“Oh! Speaking of places to go, did you find anything?” Double Trouble asked excitedly.

“Yes.” Jon said, slinging off his backpack and retrieving the three data crystals. He didn’t really feel like launching into a detailed explanation of his trip.

Double Trouble squealed, reaching out for the crystals, and Jon handed them to them. “So...how do they work?” Jon asked.

“No idea.” Double Trouble said.

“What?!”

“I don’t know. I told you, I’m not a scientist.” They said, examining the crystals closely.

“So we’re back at square one.” Jon said.

Double Trouble looked surprised. “No, we know the First Ones were here, and that they left tech behind which could open a portal. We have information and supplies.” Double Trouble smiled. “One step forward, Jonathan. One step forward.”

He sighed deeply. “Do you want me to take them, or…?”

“Oh, you take them,” Double Trouble said, handing them over. “You’re much smarter than me. If anyone can figure them out, it’s you.”

Jon blinked. “...thanks.”

Double Trouble winked.

“You sure you’ll be alright?” Jon asked.

“I can handle myself. Call me if you get any updates, okay?” Georgie said.

“I will,” Jon reached out, scratching the Admiral’s ears. “Thank you.”

Georgie smiled. “Anytime.”

*** *** ***

“...I feel like I should also tell you they can shapeshift.” Jon said, breaking the long silence that was the ride to the Magnus Institute.

“They can-fuck,” Daisy said, putting her head in her hands. “I mean...fuck, Jon.”

“You alright?” Jon asked tentatively.

“I’m not going to go on a rampage, if that’s what you're asking.” Daisy snapped.

“That’s not what I was asking.”

“I…” Daisy sighed. “It’s...that’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen. And...I did want to attack, and I didn’t, and it was like...it wasn’t like the Hunt was pulling at me. It was like the Hunt itself was at a loss as to what I should do.”

“Hm.” Jon said. “I can’t know anything about them. I can...make them tell the truth, but I can’t know. I tried.”

Daisy was quiet. “So...you’re going to try and help them get home?”

“That’s the plan.” Jon said, pulling into the parking lot. 

“Is Basira here?” Daisy asked.

“I don’t know. I’ve been in Canada. Double Trouble...held down the fort for me.” Jon said, feeling rather like he was admitting to a crime.

Daisy looked at him sideways.

“Let’s just go.” Jon said, walking towards the institute.

“Think Melanie’ll be mad at you?” Daisy asked, following Jon down the stairs into the archives.

“She’ll be pissed,” Jon said grimly. “But I’m sure we can smooth things over.”

He stepped into the archives, and was immediately flung to the side. He shouted in alarm, trying to stand, but he only thrashed uselessly, tangled in a glowing white net. Daisy met a similar fate, falling beside him with a shriek of alarm.

Someone emerged from the shadows. A woman with blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. She was at that odd age where she could have been anywhere between her late teens and mid twenties.

“What the fuck?! Let us out!” Daisy screamed, thrashing against the net.

Jon just stared at the woman, unable to process what had just happened.

The woman glared directly at Jon, meeting his eyes with no fear.

“Where are they?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh my god there's so many characters to keep track of now


	12. The Stinger, the Syringe, and the Snatchers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh my god theres literally so many characters to keep track of now

Martin woke up tied to a chair with a kink in his neck.

Immediately, he jerked up, trying not to panic. He was in the archives, he could tell, but he didn’t know exactly where. The archives were a big place, and he still found little corners he was fairly sure he had never been to before. 

He tried to pull on his restraints, and noted with surprise that instead of ropes, he was trapped with thick green vines. He mentally ran through the fear powers in his head, and realized he was pretty sure none of them controlled plants.

“Oh, you’re awake!” An excited voice said, and Martin finally noticed the quote unquote elephant in the room, and shrieked.

It was a woman who had to be near seven feet tall. She had shaved the sides of her head so all that was left was a tuft of thick white hair on top of her head. That wasn’t what made Martin shriek, though. The source of his immediate fear was the woman’s massive crimson pincers that replaced her hands, and the massive scorpion’s tail and stinger that stretched out behind her.

“No no don’t worry!” The woman waved her hands in what might have been intended as a placating gesture, but it only made Martin think of how easy it would be for her to crush his skull. “I’m just here to interrogate you!”

“What the hell?!” Martin asked shrilly.

“Oh, uh, maybe interrogate is the wrong word-no! No no, I’m tough!” She looked at Martin with a sudden glare. “Where are they?!” She asked, in a rougher voice.

Martin shrieked again, this time accidentally tipping himself backwards. His head hit the hard floor painfully, and he yelped. “Oh no…” The woman said, sounding concerned. She picked Martin and the chair up with just one claw, easily setting it right. “Hey, don’t do that. You’ll crack your head open, and I am NOT trained in first aid. Well, I am, but I’m not too good at it.” She clicked her pincers, not seeming to notice Martin flinch. “These things kinda make it hard to unwrap a bandage, you know?” She smiled good-naturedly. 

“W-what are you?” Martin asked, voice hoarse.

“Oh! Sorry, I totally forgot. My name’s Scorpia.” She smiled, sticking out her pincer as if to shake Martin’s hand, and then seemed to remember he couldn’t shake back. “Uh, what’s your name?”

“Why...why are you here?” Martin asked.

“We’re just looking for our friend. Tall, green fella, a bit dramatic. Seen them?” Scorpia asked. Martin didn’t answer. “Answers to Double Trouble. Or Peekablue. Or Flutterina. Or...just about anything, depending on who they’re pretending to be…”

“Pretending to be?” Martin repeated, wheels turning.

Scorpia nodded, looking excited. “Yeah! They can change into just about anyone, it’s really cool-you seen them?”

“Oh my God.” Martin muttered, unsure how to answer. On one hand, he didn’t want to give this scorpion-human hybrid any information that could be used to hurt anyone, even if she looked like she could break him in half like a toothpick. On the other hand, maybe she wasn’t putting on a nice cop act, and wanted to help find this Double Trouble, assuming there was still hope for Jon.

“...no. I can’t say I have.” Martin said. Scorpia looked disappointed.

“Oh...well, I’ll just stay here in case you remember anything! We can chat, maybe play a game...I’d suggest ‘I Spy’, but there’s not much to spy in here, if you know what I mean.” She chuckled.

“...you could let me out.” Martin suggested.

“Ooh,” Scorpia tched. “No can do, buddy. Sorry. We’re all under strict orders to make sure no one gets out until we know what to do next. Can’t have a secret mission if everyone knows the secret, right?”

“Secret mission?” Martin asked.

“Oh, shoot,” Scorpia covered her mouth with her pincers. “I really wasn’t supposed to say that. Don’t tell anyone I said that, alright?”

Martin’s head was spinning. If this was some sort of agent sent by one of the fears, they were doing a pretty bad job of making him feel afraid. Scorpia reminded him of one of those massive dogs that simply wanted to cuddle and couldn’t understand why some people found it frightening.

“So...there’s more of you here?” Martin asked. 

Scorpia paused, and then shrugged. “Well, I suppose there’s no use in lying now. Yeah, there’s a lot of us here. The whole Princess Alliance, plus a few others.”

“Princess Alliance?” Martin asked. 

“Yeah!” Scorpia nodded. “You know, we didn’t know what we would be facing here. So we kinda pulled out all the stops.” She paused. “I don’t think I ever got your name…?”

“Alright, Scorpia, trade out time.” Someone else said. A woman with dark skin and thick blue hair tied in a braid emerged from the shadows. She may have been significantly smaller and less stingy than Scorpia, but she looked far more serious.

“Oh,” Scorpia looked a bit disappointed. “Okay.” She smiled brightly at Martin, waving. “Talk soon!” She hurried out, stinger looking far less menacing than the new woman’s glare.

“Now,” She said. “Where did you leave off with her?”

*** *** ***

This was hands down the strangest hostage situation Jon had ever been a part of. 

The blonde woman from before was doing her best to interrogate the still netted Jon, but she kept looking to the other woman in the corner for support and affirmation, which sort of ruined her threatening vibe.

The woman in the corner looked scarier than the blonde one, that was for sure. She had gray-ish hair that fell messily above her shoulders, and she had big, mismatched eyes; one yellow, and one blue. Her nails were sharpened to a needle point, and while she leaned against the wall, she was clearly ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice.

Jon had thought her cat-like ears were one of those headbands that seemed so popular with children these days until he saw the ears twitch and a very real tail flick in irritation. He had spent enough time with the Admiral to know what was going through her head-she was deciding whether or not Jon was prey.

“Tell us everything you know!” The blonde woman demanded, and then glanced at her cat companion. The cat person nodded encouragingly, and the blonde woman turned back to Jon with a glare.

“Look, no offense, but it’s a bit hard to take you seriously when you keep turning to your friend for backup.” Jon said.

“Girlfriend.” The cat person corrected in a harsh voice.

“Congratulations,” Jon deadpanned. “That makes it sweet, but even less scary.”

“You better lose that attitude,” The cat person warned, glaring at Jon. “Or it’s going to make things very, very difficult for you.”

“I’d like to know if my coworkers are alright.” Jon said, refusing to show fear, staring down the cat person, who he decided was the bigger threat.

“They’re fine,” The blonde woman said. “We just need to know where our friend is. And if you hurt them, you’re in for a world of pain.”

Jon had to hand it to her, she could be threatening when she wanted too. That effect, however, was completely ruined seconds later when a shorter girl rushed into the small ring of light, grinning excitedly, gripping what looked like an adapted Ipad.

“Can you believe this place?!” She said excitedly. “There’s such a raw magical energy concentration I had to adjust all my equipment! And it’s all centered-” She held the strange device out towards Jon. “-here! Can you imagine the knowledge we can get from this place?! I have to collect a sample!”

Her massive amount of purple hair _moved_ , like an extra pair of arms, retrieving a long syringe and looking at Jon with feverish happiness. Jon tried desperately to flop away. “Please don’t.” He said desperately.

The cat person sighed. “Entrapta, can you-”

“Entrapta?!” Jon said immediately, stopping in his escape attempt. “You...you were the one building a portal machine!”

Entrapta smiled widely. “Yeah! Do I know you?”

“No,” Jon admitted. “But I know you. You...you all are here for Double Trouble, aren’t you?”

“Have you seen them?!” The blonde woman said, looking relieved. 

“Yes. They came here and pretended to be my coworker. I’ve been trying to help them find a way home, but obviously I’ve been unsuccessful-” Jon glanced at Entrapta, who was still holding onto the syringe. “Can you put that away?!”

Entrapta made an unhappy noise, but complied. 

“Double Trouble’s fine,” Jon said to the other two, deciding not to tell them about the gunshot. “They’re staying with a friend of mine. Let me call them, and talk to my coworkers. They’ll be here as quickly as they can, and then you all can be on your way.”

The three looked at each other, seeming to have a telepathic conversation. “...fine,” The blonde woman said. The net disappeared, and Jon stood up, brushing himself off.

“Hang on!” Entrapta said. “I have few questions-” She pulled out a tape recorder, which nearly made Jon laugh. It seemed like a cosmic joke. “Why is there such a concentration of magic here? Why is it so powerful around you? How does the magic manifest itself? Does anyone else have magic like your’s?!”

Her eyes shined with unparalleled excitement. “Tell me everything!”

*** *** ***

“They’re here! They’re here!” Kevin McCarthy’s character ran wildly through the streets, waving down cars in an attempt to warn people in vain that the aliens had arrived on Earth.

Double Trouble chewed thoughtfully on popcorn. “It’s alright.” They finally decided.

“Really?” Georgie asked, standing up to put her bowl in the sink. “That movie scared me to death when I was a kid.”

“But you said it was one of your favorites.” Double Trouble said, confused.

Georgie shrugged. “It was my dad’s favorite. It was really the first movie to have such a big effect on me. I hated the idea of being replaced.”

“Is that why I scare you?” Double Trouble asked tentatively.

“You don’t scare me.” Georgie said.

Double Trouble blinked. “But you said-”

“I can’t feel fear,” Georgie said. “At least, not anymore.”

Double Trouble paused. “...is that why you saved me after you knew I wasn’t Jonathan?”

“A little,” Georgie confessed. “And I...sort of felt bad for you.”

Double Trouble was quiet for a long time. “Hm.” They said, scratching the Admiral absently behind the ears, smiling when the cat purred loudly. “Do you think...you would still be scared of me? Considering I...could replace you?”

Georgie was quiet for a long moment. “Maybe at first,” She admitted. “But not anymore. You’re nice, funny, and usually polite. Plus the Admiral likes you.”

Double Trouble grinned. “Does that mean we’re friends?”

“...sure.” Georgie said, emerging from the kitchen. Double Trouble’s grin widened. “So not a fan of ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’?” She asked.

“I still like Pride and Prejudice best,” Double Trouble declared. “Though the one with those big monsters was good too.” 

“Jurassic Park?” Georgie asked. “Yeah, that’s a classic.”

Georgie’s phone buzzed, and she grabbed it, immediately taking the call when she realized it was Jon. “Hello?” She asked.

“Georgie, everything alright over there?” Jon’s voice asked.

“I-yeah. All fine. Just watching movies. Double Trouble wants to marry Keira Knightly and was pretty upset when I said that wasn’t possible but...all fine here. What about you?” Georgie asked. 

“We found them. I mean, they found us. People from Double Trouble’s world.” Jon said.

Georgie’s mouth dropped open. “Really? I...that’s great! Do you need us to come?”

“As soon as possible.” Jon said, and hung up the phone before Georgie could say anything else.

She turned to Double Trouble, who was looking at her expectantly. “Come on. We’re leaving.”

“Ooh, surprise trip!” Double Trouble clapped their hands. “Can I bring the Admiral?”

“No. Stop asking me that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i KNOW the british use the metric system but im american so have my bastard measurements


	13. Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i can't...so many characters...

Jon thought he did a good job staying calm while Melanie yelled at him, all things considered. 

“You’re telling me that not only did you neglect to tell us that there was an alien shapeshifter living down here, but you also let it pretend to be you when you ran off to fucking Canada?!” Melanie demanded, pacing in Jon’s office.

The staff had huddled for a small group meeting after being released by the odd looking strangers with Jon’s promise that they wouldn’t hurt anyone. (Which was met with several fierce glares by Melanie)

“I know, I know, I’m sorry.” Jon said.

“I can’t believe this.” Martin muttered.

Jon glanced at him incredulously. “Martin, no offense, but you don’t even work down here anymore. Why would I tell you?!”

Martin opened his mouth, but Basira-who had evidently returned while Jon was away-interrupted him. “They’re not going to be happy when they see...you know.” Basira gestured vaguely.

“You’re the one that shot them?!” Jon asked incredulously. “Do you just carry a gun on you at all times?!”

“It comes in handy.” Basira said darkly. Jon decided not to press the subject.

“Can we go back to the part where you were hiding aliens?!” Melanie snapped furiously.

“I’m sorry! I thought you’d react badly!” Jon said.

“This is worse!” Melanie said, near hysterical.

“I know, you’re right. I shouldn’t have kept this a secret,” He lowered his voice so the beings who were definitely eavesdropping couldn’t hear. “Which is why I’m telling you this.”

Everyone paused.

“I got these things-” Jon withdrew the crystals. “From the temple in Canada. The First Ones temple. They’re alien imperialists, disappeared mysteriously, blah blah blah, the usual.” He handed them to Basira to pass around. “But the inside of the temple was...strange.”

“More strange than an alien church?” Basira asked.

“Yes,” Jon said. “There was a tape recorder in my bag. Once I entered, it caught on fire.”

Martin looked uncomfortable. “Maybe...it was just a fluke?”

“You and I both know it wasn’t.” Daisy said.

“There was...this weird hologram person. Like the place had its own...what’s that robot assistant called? The one that was apparently listening to people’s conversations?” Jon asked.

“Alexa?” Melanie asked.

“Right, that one. A more advanced, smarter Alexa. And...it named me as an administrator. The Archivist.” Jon said.

There was dead silence in the room. 

“So...you’re an alien imperialist now?” Martin asked.

“What? No. Not me, at least. Maybe a past Archivist knew about them.” Jon said.

“Like Gertrude.” Basira said.

Jon shrugged. “Maybe? I don’t know.”

“You don’t know.” Melanie said doubtfully.

“That’s the other thing! I don’t know,” Jon said. “I _can’t_ know. I can’t read their writing. I can’t know things about these people. And I’ve tried. But...nothing happens. When I tried in the temple, it...I think they sensed it somehow. The place attacked me.” Jon rubbed his eyes. “It’s like...a guard is placed around them. And I can...sort of feel myself trying to get through it. But something’s blocking me from it.”

Daisy nodded slowly. “...it was a bit like that with the Hunt. Like...I felt like I should do something. But I didn’t know what. It was almost like the Hunt panicked and didn’t know what to do.”

Basira glanced up. “The Hunt-did you meet this thing?” 

Daisy nodded. “Yeah. They’re pretty freaky looking, but...I mean, so far, I think they’re just annoying.”

Jon nodded. “They’re harmless. I made them tell me.”

“Your...abilities work on them?” Melanie asked.

Jon nodded. “But they can sense it. And they don’t like it too much.”

“Tough.” Melanie muttered.

All at once, there was a loud commotion outside the door. Jon was up in an instant, throwing open the door, panicked scenarios running through his mind.

Double Trouble stood at the bottom of the steps, grinning, Georgie hanging back while the strangers surrounded Double Trouble excitedly. “Miss me, dears?” Double Trouble asked, trying to sound nonchalant, but Jon could see the feverish relief in their eyes that they hadn’t been left behind.

“You’re hurt. What happened?!” The blonde woman asked.

Double Trouble glanced at Jon, managing to catch their eye. They winked. 

“Oh, I was being foolish. My own fault. I’m fine, really. I’ve had worse, Adora.” Double Trouble lied easily.

_Adora._

“Oh, Entrapta, lovely to see you, darling. Kitten, your hair is growing out nicely. Mermista, it’s been so long-have you all met my friends here?” Double Trouble gestured to Jon and the others.

Jon coughed. “Let’s maybe save the introductions for later.” 

“Oh, boo. You’re no fun. Have you got the data crystals? Entrapta here knows what to do with them.” Double Trouble said.

Entrapta whirled around, squealing with excitement. “You have First Ones’ tech?! Gimme gimme gimme!” She jumped up and down, hardly able to contain herself. 

Jon grabbed the crystals, handing them over. Entrapta looked at them as if they were the most precious thing on Earth. “Where are the others?” She asked. 

Jon blinked. “Others?”

“Yeah! I mean, this is a great start, but I’m gonna need more than two crystals to build a portal.” She said.

“There’s three.” Melanie said. 

“This one just has a message on it.” Entrapta held one up. It was slightly chipped, and had a worn look. More so than the others.

“A message? What does it say?” Jon asked.

Entrapta shrugged. “Why would I know? I don’t have the tech with me that’s needed to play it. It’s a transmission,” She paused. “Is this...all the stuff you could get?”

“There were only three crystals.” Jon said, heart sinking. “You can’t...just reopen a portal back?”

“Well, here’s the thing,” Entrapta said. “Portals are kind...delicate. I managed to create one by accident that got Double Trouble here, and then it was pretty hard to replicate that, let me tell you! My lab partners were supposed to reopen it once we got Double Trouble, but I lost contact with them. It’s like there’s something blocking the signal, preventing me from reaching out to them.” She shook her strange device. She smiled widely. “But that’s alright, because while I’m here I get to study this place.”

“Oh my God.” Jon said. 

Double Trouble looked worried. “We can find another statement mentioning them, right?”

“We got incredibly lucky last time,” Jon said. “And even if everyone here pitched in to look through statements, it would take forever to get through all of them. And it’s only a matter of time before this many people are found out. We need a faster way to find First Ones’ ruins.” 

He looked at the archives staff.

Realization hit Melanie like a truck. “No.” She said immediately.

“If you know anyone else that can see anything, I’d love to hear about them.” Jon said.

“Melanie’s right,” Martin said. “We can’t trust Elias. Who knows what he’d do if he knew about everything? He probably already does-”

“He doesn’t. At least, I don’t think he does.” Jon said.

“How can you know that?! You know what he’s capable of. He’d destroy us all if he thought he could gain something from it.” Melanie said.

“Then we won’t let him. There’s more of us than there are of him.” Jon said.

“That may not matter.” Daisy said darkly.

“Again, if anyone else has a better idea, I’d love to hear it.” Jon said. 

Silence.

Jon turned to Double Trouble. “Think you’re up to shapeshift?”

Double Trouble grinned. “For you, darling, anything.”

“What is this?” One of the strangers asked, a shorter girl with pink and purple hair.

“A jailbreak for a...a very dangerous and manipulative man. But I think he’s the only one who can help us.” Jon said.

“Then I’ll come too.” The cat person said. 

Adora looked shocked. “What? Catra, no-”

“We’ve got experience with manipulators, and I’d rather you stay here in case the rest get attacked,” Catra said. “I’d feel better if we match their numbers on this mission.”

Jon coughed. “If she wants to come-”

“It’s not a want. I’m going. No questions.” Catra said. Jon went quiet, deciding it was wiser not to argue. 

Adora sighed. “Just...be careful?”

Catra smiled, the first emotion Jon had seen from her that wasn’t harsh. “Aw, are you worried about me?”

Adora kissed her cheek. “I’m serious.”

“I’ll be fine,” Catra assured her. “Just protect everyone else. Okay?”

“I love you.” Adora said.

“I love you too.” Catra said.

Jon coughed, feeling a bit like he witnessed what was supposed to be a private moment. “Alright, here’s the plan…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the tag everyone is excited for is coming soon


	14. Double Liars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the moment you've all been waiting for

Elias Bouchard was woken sometime at around one in the morning to footsteps outside his cell. 

There was a tall police officer, staring at him with a gruff look. “Get up,” He said. “You’re gettin’ a transfer.”

“In the middle of the night?” Elias asked.

The man shrugged. “Ain’t my call. I’d rather be sleepin’ too. Let’s get this over with.”

Elias stood up, letting the officer handcuff him and lead him through the long halls. Outside, there was a small, familiar car.

Elias smiled, seeing someone leaning against it. “Hello Jon. Fancy seeing you here.”

“You didn’t know we were coming?” Jon asked stiffly.

Elias shrugged. “I was sleeping.”

“I sure wish I was.” A new voice said, and Elias turned, and felt an emotion he hadn’t known for a long time; surprise.

The officer was gone, replaced by a slender green creature with long blonde hair, a tail, and reptilian eyes. The creature smiled widely. “What? Never met a shapeshifter?”

“Elias, this is Double Trouble,” Jon seemed amused. “And you’re going to help them.”

“Oh?” Elias asked, unable to take his eyes off the creature. “And why would I do that?”

“Because I’m going to make you regret it if you don’t.” A female voice said, sticking their head out of the car. There was a woman Elias didn’t recognize, but what was strange about her was that her eyes and ears appeared to be cat-like.

Elias smiled. “You’ve been busy, haven’t you Jon?”

“Shouldn’t you already know that?” Jon asked.

Elias shrugged. “Contrary to what you believe, I have other things to attend to besides you and the Institute.”

“Just get in the damn car.” Jon said.

Elias smiled to himself, settling in. “You’ll need to uncuff me so I can put on my seatbelt.”

“I guess Jonathan will just have to drive carefully then,” Double Trouble said, smiling to show off rows of sharp teeth. “Oh well.”

Elias glanced down at the bandages covering the creature’s stomach. “And what happened to you?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Double Trouble said.

“I would.” Elias said darkly.

The cat person turned around, blue and yellow eyes narrowed fiercely. “Try something. I dare you.”

Elias simply smiled.

“Thank you, Catra,” Jon said, starting up the tiny car. “We need you to find something for us, Elias.”

“I assumed as much. What’s in it for me?” Elias asked.

“I don’t cut you into little pieces if you cooperate.” Catra said. 

“Very scary.” Elias said sarcastically.

“We’ll negotiate something.” Jon said.

“That’s not good enough.” Elias replied.

“We already busted you out,” Double Trouble said. “I’d consider that a partial payment.”

Elias went quiet after that, more or less complacent. The ride back to the archives felt like a million years. Jon finally pulled into the parking lot, and started to open the door.

“You guys wait over there,” Catra said. “Me and him’ll catch up in a second.”

Jon shook his head. “That’s a horrible idea. We-”

“It’ll only take a second,” Catra said, staring Elias dead in the eyes. “Trust me.”

“She’ll be fine, Jonathan.” Double Trouble said, struggling slightly to exit the car. 

Jon was still, and then slowly nodded. “Just...don’t tell your girlfriend.”

“Stay safe, kitten.” Double Trouble said, closing the door. 

Elias waited until Jon was a few good feet away. “Are you going to threaten me more?” He asked.

“Not unless I have too. Just wanted to have a little chat, you know?” Catra said, shifting so she could face Elias.

“If you kill me-” Elias started, but Catra waved her hand. Her fingernails were razor sharp. Cat’s claws.

“I know, I know. Jon told me about the whole everyone dies if you die thing. Personally, I think you’re lying, but I know better than to risk that,” She smiled, showing off sharp canines. “I just wanted to tell you a little about myself.”

“Do you now?” Elias said.

“Yep. You see, I know you. The whole manipulation thing, the turning people against each other game, pretending to be all knowing so you can sow fear and doubt between your underlings, blah blah blah,” She looked at her nails. “Personally, I don’t think you’re that scary. Making people know things they wish they didn’t? I’ve already seen and experienced everything I wish I hadn’t. Frankly, I’d be impressed if you came up with anything that could rattle me.”

“But know this,” Her voice went steely hard. “If you do anything to any of my friends, if you so much as look at them funny, you’re gonna wish you’d never been born. I don’t have to kill you to make you stop.” 

She smiled. “Are we clear?”

Elias was quiet.

“Fantastic,” She opened the car door. “Now don’t be a bitch. Follow me.”

*** *** ***

“The temple?” Elias said, looking over the statement. “I hardly see what that has to do with any of it.”

“We just need to know if there’s another.” Jon said.

“And why is that?” Elias asked.

Jon glared. “What, you can’t just pick it from my brain?”

“I could, but I so want for there to be trust between us, Jon. We don’t have to be enemies.” Elias said.

“Ugh,” The blue-haired girl-Mermista-groaned. “This is useless. We’ve been going in a circle for hours. Just saying pretty please isn’t going to do anything.”

“Yeah!” The literal child the group had brought along slammed her fists on the table. “Tell us what you know now, old man! Or else!”

Elias actually laughed. “How old are you, ten? Shouldn’t you be at home with your parents?”

Frosta looked furious. “I’m twelve and a half! And that’s how many concussions you’re gonna get if you don’t tell us everything now!” Massive fists made of ice formed on her hands.

“Frosta…” Glimmer said, gently pulling her back.

“Why you’re chasing after old empty temples that have no use to us is unimportant to me. But there’s nothing,” Elias shrugged. “You’re wasting your time.”

“He’s lying.” Double Trouble said quietly.

“What?” Melanie asked. 

“He’s lying.” Double Trouble repeated.

Elias smiled. “And what exactly makes you say that?”

“I read people, darling. I know emotion better than anyone else, if I do say so myself. And you, good sir,” They pointed at Elias. “Are full of it.”

“And you,” Elias said, voice low. “Are an overgrown lizard playing with powers outside your comprehension.”

“Hey-” The plant one-Perfuma-said, but Double Trouble held up their hand, smiling.

“Stick and stones, darling. If you want to hurt my feelings, you’ll have to try harder than that. What’s more,” They smiled. “You’re scared.”

“What would I have to be scared of?” Elias asked.

“That you don’t know anything about us. That we’re an unknown variable to your game, and now that we’re here, everything you’ve built through lies and manipulation is about to fall apart,” Double Trouble stood up, arms crossed dramatically. “Am I right, or am I right?”

“You’re wrong.” Elias hissed.

“You put on a good act, darling. But it’s not good enough.” Double Trouble said simply.

“Tell us where the temple is.” Daisy said.

Elias was quiet for a long moment, staring at each and every person huddled in the archives. And there were a lot. “...there’s a place in the middle of the country. It’s always been...a bit difficult to see.”

“Like the tunnels?” Basira asked.

“Yes, in a way. But if you try to look too close, it...it’s just dark. Like someone pulled the blinds over it.” Elias said. 

Jon let out a breath. “It’s a lead.” He said. 

*** *** ***

There was a fish tank in Peter Lucas’s office.

It was one of the larger ones, the type you would see in a dentist waiting room. It was filled with tropical fish, each one darting in and out of the plastic plants, or pecking at the gravel in search of food.

Fish eyes don’t blink. They were permanently open, seeing everything. The ones in Peter Lucas’ office had a haunted look, as though they had witnessed unbearable atrocities that could never be described. They looked scared.

Martin hated them.

He hated the office. He hated his job. He hated Peter Lucas and his mind games that were so similar to Elias’. But most of all, he hated being left out. 

His job to aid the plan had been to simply go back to the main institute and pretend nothing was wrong. Which was difficult, because a lot was wrong. 

“Well!” Peter said suddenly, and Martin resisted the urge to flinch. “I’ve had a long day. How about you?”

Martin shrugged. “I guess.”

“I’m going to head out for the night,” He glanced at Martin. “You’re staying late.”

“Yes, I, uh, just wanted to finish some things up.” He said.

Peter stared at Martin for a long time. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, just fine.” Martin said immediately.

“You know, we aren’t enemies. I want you to be able to tell me things. Like...strange trips down to the archives.” Peter said.

Martin hoped his face wasn’t white. “I was just looking for some statements pertaining to...you know. The fifteenth power.”

“Aha. Did you find anything useful?” Lucas asked.

“No. Not really.” Martin said.

Lucas nodded slowly, evidently satisfied, and then turned to leave.

“I was wondering if I could have the weekend off,” Martin blurted out. “You know, take a break.”

Lucas looked back in surprise. “Take the weekend off? Now why would you want to do that?”

“I, uh, you know. Haven’t had a break in a while. And it’s been, uh, stressful. For a while.” Martin said.

Lucas stared at him. “Are you sure everything’s alright?” 

“Just fine.” Martin insisted.

Lucas was quiet, and then sighed, still slightly suspicious, but unable to find proof. “Alright. I’ll see you Monday then, bright and early?”

“Bright and early.” Martin parroted.

“Good.” Lucas nodded, and then left.

Martin counted to one thousand before sprinting down to the archives, running straight into Jon.

“Martin!” Jon gasped, stepping back, badly startled. “Christ...you’re supposed to be upstairs-”

“Did you get anything out of him?” Martin interrupted.

Jon blinked. “What?”

“Did you find anything out?” Martin repeated. “Everything’s okay?”

Jon nodded slowly. “We have a location. Some of us are driving out to it while the rest stay here-”

“I’m coming.” Martin said.

“...sorry?”

“I’m coming too,” Martin said, his resolve hardening. “I already took the weekend off. I’m coming too.”

“Are you serious? There’s already four people coming, plus that weird magic cat. I already have to borrow Georgie’s car.” Jon said.

“I’m coming. I’m always left out on these things. I want to come.” Martin said.

“Is this...some sort of stupid clique thing? Do you think we’re leaving you out because we don’t like you?!” Jon asked.

 _A little,_ Martin thought, but didn’t say anything.

“It’s not a holiday, Martin. It’s dangerous.” Jon said.

“I know! And I don’t care. I want to help. I can help,” Martin said. “If you don’t say yes, I’m just going to follow you.”

Jon looked like he wanted to argue more, but instead just sort of sighed, defeated. “...fine. You can come. We’re leaving when the sun comes up-”

“Great!” Martin said, unable to contain a smile. “I’ll pack an overnight bag. Does anyone want any snacks, or…?”

“For Christ’s sake, it’s not a holiday!” Jon snapped.

Martin winced. “Right, right, sorry. So...no snacks then…?”

Jon paused. “I...I mean a few wouldn’t hurt…”

“Anything in particular?”

“Uh, no not really.”

“Should we check to see if the others have allergies?”

“Martin.”

“Right, right. Sorry.”


	15. Conversations on the Car Roof

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in which jon becomes the accidental dad of the best friends squad
> 
> also, heads up, chapters are almost guaranteed to seriously slow down now. im moving out tomorrow which is s t r e s s f u l and i wont have much time to write this. just bear with me yall :)

“Sooooo…” Bow said, looking around. “This is...fun. Best Friends Squad Road Trip plus these guys….yaaaaaaaay…!” 

“Mreowr.” Melog said.

They had been driving nearly all day, and Jon was exhausted. The sun was starting to set, and conversation had always felt stiff. The country roads were open, empty. They hadn’t seen another car in hours.

Martin wriggled in the front seat. “Ah, are there any pretzels left?”

“Adora’s hogging them all.” Catra said.

“M’ n’t’.” Adora protested, though it was hard to understand her with her mouth full. 

“Come on, we all have to share.” Glimmer said.

Adora held the bag away, and Catra made a grab for it. “Hey!” Adora shouted, jerking away, trying to keep the bag away from her friends, spilling pretzels all over the floor. Melog saw his opportunity, and tried to jump out of the hatchback and in between the seats, grabbing at pretzels. Glimmer teleported to try and get the bag, which was difficult considering the tiny confines. Bow yelped when Melog stepped on his face.

Chaos ensued.

Jon slammed on the brakes, and everyone lurched forward painfully. It was a miracle that Glimmer and Melog weren’t ejected through the window. Jon reached back, snatching the pretzels from Adora and throwing them out the window.

Silence.

“If you don’t…” Jon struggled not to yell, and then gave up. “Stop that, I swear to God I will turn around and you’ll just have to find your way! Catra can wear a damn hat for the rest of her life for all I care!”

“I hate hats.” Catra muttered.

“Then shut up and sit down!” Jon shouted, slamming on the gas. Everyone lurched back again.

There was more silence, this time more awkward than ever.

“Um, Jon…” Martin said.

“What?!” Jon snapped.

Martin flinched. “Maybe we should...find somewhere to stop and spend the night.”

Jon sighed, trying to make the tension leave his body. “Then we’ll never get back before Monday.” 

“I-It’s alright! I’ll figure something out to tell Peter. I’ll say...I was hungover or something.” Martin said brightly.

Catra scoffed. “You? Hungover?”

Adora elbowed Catra. 

“We haven’t seen a hotel in miles. And we have two very non-human beings with us that will raise some alarms.” Jon said.

“We can just pull over on the side of the road somewhere,” Glimmer said. “We’re fine with it!” There were nervous sounds of agreement from that back. Apparently no one wanted to cross Jon after his last outburst.

He sighed deeply. “Fine. I’ll find a place to pull over.” 

*** *** ***

Martin woke up to being gently shaken.

“It’s your turn to take watch.” Glimmer whispered.

Martin nodded, rubbing his face. “M’kay...hang on.”

He glanced at Jon, who appeared to be asleep, leaning back in the car seat, facing away from Martin. He checked the backseat. Everyone else seemed to be asleep there as well, with Catra sleeping partially on Adora’s lap like...well, like an oversized cat.

Martin felt a quick pang of jealousy, which somewhat surprised him.

He climbed out of the car as quietly as he could, managing to get himself onto the roof of the car, lying on top of it, staring up at the stars. 

Catra and Adora seemed so happy together, and he frowned, thinking about it. It had been a long time since he had felt like that, not since...well, not since a little after he had started working for Peter Lucas.

The man-if he was even a man-seemed to sap up his energy like a sponge, to the point where he was so busy working to make sure he didn’t Vanish anyone and making sure no one in the archives fell under scrutiny that he...he just didn’t have to energy to think like that anymore. To think for himself.

And honestly, he wasn’t sure if he missed it. 

Staring up at the stars, despite the people in the car underneath him, he felt like the only person in the universe. And...it didn’t bother him. Or at least, it didn’t used to. Now there was a nagging feeling that this couldn’t be right, that it was dangerous to think like that. His thoughts kept going back to Catra and Adora, so happy, so trusting, so...together. Un-alone, if that was even a word.

“Martin?” He heard someone whisper. He looked up, surprised to see Jon emerging from the car. 

“Jon? You’re up? Are you alright?” Martin asked.

Jon nodded. “I just woke up, and...I’m not really tired. Don’t know why, but…” He shrugged. “I...didn’t really want to be alone right now, if you don’t mind…”

“You don’t?” Martin asked, surprised. “I-I mean, sure, I don’t mind, I just...the others are there.”

“I know, but I...don’t know them.” Jon said hesitantly.

“Oh.” Martin said, quiet. He paused, trying to dispel Catra and Adora from his mind. “Well...come on up, I suppose.” He scooted over to make room for Jon, who climbed onto the car roof (with some difficulty) and laid on his back opposite to Martin.

It was quiet for several minutes, except for the occasional noise of crickets and the call of a distant owl.

“So…” Jon said. “How are you holding up in all this?”

Martin burst out laughing.

Jon sat up, looking at Martin with concern. “What? What’s so funny?”

“Sorry, I just…” Martin wheezed, trying to regain control of himself. “We have five aliens in your ex-girlfriend’s car. Our magic psycho ex-boss is back at the archives, being watched by the rest of the aliens, one of which is a non-binary shapeshifting diva who pretended to be you.”

“You knew they were pretending to be me?” Jon asked, sounding surprised.

Martin nodded. “I...yeah. I...don’t know how, but...I just did. I thought...I thought the thing that took Sasha came back.”

“It didn’t. I’m fine.” Jon said.

“Yeah, but I didn’t know that. I...I tipped Melanie off about it…” Martin said, suddenly guilty.

Jon was quiet for a moment. “I can’t say I blame you. I would have probably done the same thing. And they’re fine, so...I guess it all turned out alright in the end.”

“Except for the fact they’re still here.” Martin said.

“Yeah,” Jon agreed. “Except for that.”

There was another long quiet, and this time Martin broke the silence. 

“It’s almost enough to make you miss the Prentiss days, huh?” He said.

“What?” Jon asked.

“You know. When our biggest worry was...worms. Not...evil fear gods and aliens.” Martin said.

Jon chuckled. “I suppose so.” 

“What...what do you think was the worst one for you? Like...the encounter you hated the most?” Martin asked.

“God, ah…” Jon chuckled. “It almost feels mean to pick one. Like picking a favorite child.”

“I’m sorry, what?!” Martin sputtered, laughing at the comparison.

“You know what I mean, so...hm…” Jon was quiet. “I mean, it varies, but probably...when Prentiss broke in.”

“Seriously? That’s your worst one?” Martin asked. 

“What about it?” Jon asked.

“That woman and her worms stalked me for weeks, and she’s not even in my top three.” Martin said.

“Well congratulations,” Jon said sarcastically. “But she didn’t get you.”

“I mean…” Martin said. “I guess. But she’s...easier to deal with. All you need is a canister of CO2 and a corkscrew.”

“Ugh,” Jon said. “Don’t remind me.”

“God, everything was so much easier.” Martin muttered. 

“We don’t get paid enough for this.” Jon said.

Martin laughed. “What are they even paying you now? Did you get a raise after saving the world?”

“I have no idea,” Jon said. “But whatever they’re paying me it’s not enough to get turned into a monster.”

Martin’s smile died. “You’re not a monster, Jon.”

“Seems like you’re the only one that thinks that.” Jon said.

“What, just because you can do these...these things, you’re a monster?” Martin asked. “Are the people in the car monsters?”

Jon sighed. “They’re from a place where it seems like magic comes from a good source. The rules are different for them.” 

“You’re not a monster,” Martin insisted. “You aren’t...you aren’t like Prentiss, or Elias, or any of the others. You...you’re still you.”

Jon scoffed.

“I-I mean...you’ve changed. We all have. I-I think I’d be more worried if you were exactly the same. But...underneath it all, you’re still Jonathan Simms. Not...not the Archivist. The Archivist comes second.” Martin said.

Jon was quiet at that. “...thank you Martin.” 

Martin was glad it was dark. Jon couldn’t see his face turn red.

“What do you think you’d be doing if you weren’t...here?” Jon asked.

“You mean if I wasn’t helping chauffeur aliens in my colleague’s ex’s car?” Martin asked.

“I would love it if you stop mentioning the ex thing,” Jon said. “But yes.”

Martin was quiet. “I...don’t really know.”

“What about your poetry thing? Are you still doing that?” Jon asked.

“W-well, not recently...but I don’t think I could make a living off of that anyway.” Martin said.

“You don’t know that, maybe if you published it you would get rich and famous. I don’t think I’ve ever listened to it. Or read it. Or whatever.” Jon said.

Martin groaned, covering his face. “No offense Jon, but I’d rather die than let you hear any of it.”

Jon laughed at that.

“What about you? What would you do?” Martin asked.

“Christ, I have no idea.” Jon said.

“No hobbies or anything? None even from before everything went to hell?” Martin asked.

“None that I can think of. God, that sounds pathetic…” Jon said. “Maybe...a librarian?”

Martin burst out laughing.

“Oh, shush. I don’t dislike being the archivist with a lowercase A. It’s...relaxing, being able to fit everything into a nice category.” Jon said. 

“I suppose so, if you happen to be the most boring man alive.” Martin said, snickering.

“Quit bullying me. I’m not the one who records poetry on magic tape recorders.” Jon said, a smile in his voice.

“I didn’t know they were magic at the time!”

“Still.” Jon said.

Silence fell again, this time more oppressive.

“...I...I can’t remember what Sasha looked like, most days. Not...not even fake Sasha.” Martin said quietly. 

Jon was quiet. 

“Or....or even what Tim looked like. I mean, what he looked like when he was happy. Even before Prentiss,” Martin said. “I miss them.”

“Me too.” Jon said quietly. He shuffled. “When...when I went to the temple, the place...knew about them somehow. It showed them to me. Some kind of illusion. They...they were playing a card game. And they were happy.” Jon stared at the moon, looking for a face he never quite seemed to find. “They offered me a seat.”

“...did you take it?” Martin asked.

“No. I wanted to, though. I really, really wanted too,” Jon said. “But...something inside me just...pushed me to keep going. It doesn’t seem fair though. That they died. Why...why do you suppose we’re still alive?”

“...good luck?” Martin offered.

“Maybe bad, depending on how you look at it.” Jon said darkly.

“It...it wasn’t your fault.” Martin said.

“I know that,” Jon said. “I mean...in theory I know that. It’s...just hard to push away the ‘what-ifs’.”

He sighed, drumming his fingers on the roof of the car. “What about you? What was your least favorite moment?”

“The Circus. When you had to stop the ritual.” Martin said immediately.

“Martin, you weren’t even there for it.” Jon said.

“I know, but...I wanted to be. I didn’t want to just sit there and hope everything turned out alright. And then after what happened, with Tim, I thought...you know. What if I was there? Could it have turned out differently?” Martin asked.

“Hey, that’s a double standard,” Jon said. “If I’m not allowed to blame myself, neither are you. Tim made his choice.”

“I know,” Martin said. “It just...I’d have rather been there than be Elias’ distraction.” He shivered.

Jon was quiet for a long moment. “Martin, did Elias-”

“Don’t,” Martin interrupted. “Please...don’t.”

“I’m not going to do...you know. The thing.” Jon said.

“I know, I just...don’t want you to do it by accident.” Martin said in a small voice.

“Ah.” Jon said, and then fell quiet, but Martin could feel his question hang in the air like a half empty balloon.

“Is that why you wanted to come? So you wouldn’t have to be around Elias?” Jon asked quietly, unable to hold his question in.

“Alright!” Martin said, springing up and sliding off the car roof. “I-I think it’s about time to switch, are you good to take watch?”

“Yes, but-” Jon said, but Martin turned away.

“Great!” He said with forced cheer, ducking into the car.

He put his head in his hands and sighed. 

In a whisper so quiet he couldn’t even hear himself, he answered Jon’s question. 

“Yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> two bros, sitting on a car roof, only inches apart because theyre gay as hell but to emotionally closed off to admit it  
> ive resorted to begging for art but if someone wants to draw a scene of the best friends squad plus martin and melog staring at jon with apprehension while he looks mad as hell after blowing up at them i will literally cry and ill like....owe you a oneshot or sm idk :/


	16. Going Deep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was...really therapeutic to write? like??? to put catra's fear of vulnerability in my own words? something ive always struggled with??? sis this feels so much better i feel like i taught myself a lesson

“This is an empty field.” Catra said unhelpfully. 

“I can see that.” Jon said.

Glimmer glanced at the car in the distance, pulled over on the side of the road near their destination. “Are you sure this is the right place?” 

Jon was quiet. “I mean...pretty sure.” 

Glimmer disappeared in a flash of light, only to reappear thirty seconds later. “I can’t find anything.”

Melog meowed, nudging Catra gently. She patted the cat’s head. “He senses something. Deep magic. He just can’t find it.”

“That may very well be me.” A new voice said.

Martin and Jon jumped, and the Best Friends Squad instantly whirled around, ready to fight as though they had practiced this pose. 

Less than a stone’s throw away was a yellow door, sitting alone in the field. A woman stood, leaning on the door. She had unnatural, long fingers, and was covered in dizzying, psychedelic patterns that covered both her clothes and skin. She smiled.

“Hello, Archivist. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” She asked.

“Helen,” Jon said. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“No, you shouldn’t,” She said. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friends?”

“Who is this?” Adora asked.

“She’s part of the Spiral. This...power that can drive people mad.” Jon said.

“I’d call that an oversimplification,” Helen said. “Apologize for my intrusion, but I couldn’t help but overhear you were looking for something. I might be able to help.”

“Can we trust her?” Bow asked. Melog growled, his coloring suddenly red.

“No,” Jon said instantly. “She’s evil.”

Helen sighed, as though disappointed. “I’d have thought you had more nuance to your worldview by now, Archivist. I am not evil. At least, not in the way you imagine. I am simply a manifestation of your fears.”

“That sounds pretty bad to me.” Catra said.

“Fear is not evil. It’s perfectly natural. It’s what you choose to do with that fear, how to react to it, that makes one evil,” Helen shrugged. “Neither me, nor Helen herself is evil. We simply obey our nature.”

“And what is your nature?” Jon asked.

“Right now? I’d like to help you out. You’re looking for the hidden place.” Helen said.

“You know how to get inside?” Jon asked, surprised. 

“No. Not really. A door won’t open inside. Can’t figure out why, for the life of me. And you don’t seem to know either. Which means the Eye knows about as much as I do,” Helen said, bringing her oversized fingers to her chin, looking thoughtful. “Which is an unexpected turn of events. Quite amusing, actually.”

“Do you know how to get inside?” Martin asked.

“I have a theory. And it doesn’t even involve any of my doors.” Helen stepped away from the door, walking through the field, eyes on the ground for some hidden clue. It was almost funny; a gray, lifeless field juxtaposed by what looked like the anthropomorphism of LSD. 

“Ah,” Helen said, kicking aside some dirt. “Here we are.”

There was a flat stone on the ground, First Ones’ writing carved into it. Two small, purple circles, each facing each other, were also carved into the rock. “This is all I can find, physically. I know there’s something there, but I’m not allowed in.”

“Not allowed in? Why?” Jon asked.

Helen merely smiled. “You tell me, Archivist. You’re the one who’s supposed to know everything.”

Adora knelt down next to the stone, examining the ruins. “It’s instructions,” She said. “For opening the place up.” She pointed at one set of purple markings. “She-Ra here,” She said, and then pointing to the other set of purple markings. “And the Archivist there.”

Jon blinked. “W-what? Are you sure?” 

“Positive.” Adora said grimly. 

“That’s unexpected.” Helen mused. 

Jon looked at her. “Why are you helping us? You want to get inside. I know you do. Do you expect us to find a way to let you in?”

“That would be nice,” Helen admitted. “But no. I know you won’t. I’ve told you before, I wanted to help you.”

“But this is different,” Jon said, putting as much force into his voice as he could. “Why are you helping us? What do you have to gain?”

Helen frowned. “There’s really no need for that. I promise my motivations aren’t nearly as grand as you think.”

“Tell me.” Jon ordered.

Helen sighed. “The Eye does not know what this place is anymore than I do. It’s funny. They’re always a few steps ahead, it seems like. It’s nice to see it struggle. And yes, I’d love to use this place for my own uses, but it will never let me. You will never let me. So watching it be as clueless as I is the next best thing.”

“You’re helping us for…” Jon blinked. “Petty revenge?”

Helen smiled. “I told you it wasn’t so grand.”

“Is she telling the truth?” Martin asked.

“I...I think so. Yes.” Jon said, stepping back. 

Helen smiled. “Good luck, Archivist. Have fun with your new friends.” As relaxed as ever, Helen walked back over to the door, and entered. The door disappeared without a trace seconds later. 

Jon turned to Adora. “So I just...stand on the markings? Is that it?”

Adora nodded. “I think so.” She carefully stood on her own markings, one foot in each purple circle, and it lit up.

Jon looked nervously at his own. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to step on it. 

Instantly, the entire stone lit up in a mess of runes, and the ground rumbled. A huge patch of grass began to sink, revealing an entrance below the ground. Jon gritted his teeth, mind wandering to the time spent within the Buried. Of course this place would be underground.

“There’s our entrance,” Glimmer said. “If we’re finding answers, it’s down there.”

“Woohoo. Tunnels.” Martin said unenthusiastically. Jon smiled in spite of himself. At least Martin shared his feelings on the matter.

“Let’s go.” Adora said, walking down the muddy ramp. She immediately slipped, falling onto her side and sliding the rest of the way down, covering herself in mud. Catra burst out laughing.

“Uh, watch your step!” Adora said.

*** *** ***

Martin wasn’t sure exactly how the split-up idea came. They had come to a fork in the tunnels, and somehow came to the “genius” idea of splitting the group into two parts. Jon, Adora, and Bow went left. Catra, Martin, and Glimmer went right. Plus that weird cat, but Martin wasn’t sure if that counted as an extra person or not.

Glimmer lit the way with her...light thing. It had been an awkward trip, and Martin definitely felt like an outsider. He still flinched when that magic cat made a noise.

“Hang on,” Glimmer said, pausing. “There’s a big room up ahead. I...can’t really see what’s in it.”

She turned to the others. “I’m going to go check it out. If something goes wrong, I can get back to you guys and teleport us out.” She lit a new ball of light, pushing it into the air like a magical lantern.

“Be careful, Sparkles.” Catra said. Glimmer smiled like it was an inside joke, and blinked away.

Silence pervaded the tunnels. Catra leaned casually against the walls of the tunnel, checking her nails.

“So…” Martin said. “You and Adora? That’s...that’s a thing, right?”

“Yeah,” Catra said, blue and yellow eyes turning onto Martin. “You got a problem with us?”

“Wha-no! No no no no, that’s…” Martin coughed, looking nervously at the magic cat. “That’s not it...you...you two seem very happy together.

Catra stared at him, evidently unsure where this was going. “We are.”

“You...you really love each other?” Martin asked.

“Yeah. That’s why we say ‘I love you’ to each other.” Catra said.

“I…” Martin paused, unsure how to proceed. “How...how did you know? That...that you loved her?”

Catra sighed. “Look, if this is about you and Jon-”

“It’s not!” Martin said defensively.

Catra grinned mischievously. “You sure? Because you two were outside for a long time last night-”

“Oh my God.” Martin said, covering his face.

Catra laughed, a high-pitched, echoing noise. “I mean I get you, end of the world stuff, why not go for it, right?”

“We didn’t...ah!” Martin said, knowing full well his face was red. “We just talked!”

“If you say so,” Catra snorted, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. “Adora and I grew up together. We’ve known each other all our lives.”

“So it was just the next step then.” Martin said.

Catra frowned. “...no. Not really. We were enemies for a while.”

“What?” Martin asked.

“Look, how we grew up...we grew up in a war. We trained our whole lives to fight for the Horde, which, as it turns out, were the bad guys. Our...adoptive mom, I guess you could call her, wasn’t a good person. She...threatened to kill me one time, so that was fun.” Catra smiled, but in the way one does when they’re trying to ignore pain.

“God.” Martin said.

“She was vindictive, evil, and manipulative. The best thing she ever did was die...but that’s besides the point. Anyway, once Adora realized what the Horde was doing, she left. I didn’t.” Catra said.

“...why?” Martin asked.

Catra sighed. “I...don’t know? I think I was more afraid of Shadow Weaver-our mom. And I wanted to keep climbing the ranks in the Horde. Everything we had been taught was that power was the ultimate prize, and...I was too scared to give it up, I guess.”

“At first it was a game. I thought Adora would come back to the Horde. Come back to me. But...she didn’t. She tried to convince me to come again and again, but I was...too wrapped up in my own pain and anger to listen, I guess.” She sighed, and the magic cat nudged her.

“Once I realized this wasn’t temporary...all bets were off. I did anything, hurt anyone, destroyed anything I had to to make sure she didn’t win. Even if it meant destroying myself along with her,” She slid down to the floor, staring into the past. “Everyone left me. And it...all became too much. I...went a little crazy.”

The cat meowed. 

“A lot crazy,” Catra said. “I finally managed to wake up when I realized that Adora was going to die if I didn’t do something. I released Glimmer from prison, and nearly got myself killed for it.”

“Adora rescued me. But even after that I was so afraid she was going to leave again I just...pushed her away,” Catra shrugged. “I...had a lot of issues to work through. We both did. I think...I think it just came down to admitting how I felt about her, even if it was literally the most terrifying thing in the world.” Catra grinned. “And wouldn’t you know it, she felt the same.”

“Wow,” Martin said, sitting down as well. “How...how do you even do that? Admitting something like that after everything?”

“I probably did it later than I should have. The world was literally ending. But…” Catra sighed. “It’s...it’s terrifying, you know? To just be honest, and vulnerable. Especially with the people you love. And...sometimes you’ll get hurt because of it. Really hurt. But no one is ever going to really know you, to love you like you deserve unless you take that risk.”

“...my mother sounds a bit like Shadow Weaver,” Martin admitted. “I-I mean, she never threatened to kill me, but…”

“Not a good person?” Catra said.

“I-I...no, I mean...she did the best she could...she wasn’t well.” Martin said quickly.

“That doesn’t mean she didn’t hurt you.” Catra said quietly. 

“No, I...I just remind her of my dad. He uh, he broke her heart, so...you know. I remind her of him. That’s...that’s gotta be hard. Right?” Martin asked.

Catra was quiet.

“It’s not her fault, she did the best she could. W-we both did the best we could with what we had.” Martin said.

“It’s not your fault either, though.” Catra said quietly.

Martin opened his mouth, and closed it.

“No one deserves that,” Catra said, with quiet conviction. “Whatever happened, it wasn’t your fault. She might have been sick, but it doesn’t excuse her. You didn’t deserve whatever she did to you.”

Martin looked down, trying to will tears back into his eyes. 

He felt something nudge him, and jumped slightly to see the magic cat, rubbing his face against his side, purring loudly. “Melog likes you.” Catra said. 

“Heh.” Martin said, hazarding a pat at Melog. Melog shut his eyes, purring like a motorboat. “Thanks, Catra.” Martin said quietly.

“Please don’t come to me for relationship advice again. I’m really not qualified.” She said, a smile returning.

Martin smiled back. A tiny one, but it was there. “You got it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the way that catra and martin play off each other in upbringing and how they internalize their abuse in such different ways is fascinating. i think this is the first time ive written a story in which i really try to add more to the characters in ways that speak to me more. ive done a lot of experimental things in this story ive never done before and im so glad they seem to be turning out well
> 
> also i know this probably isnt how the spiral and the eye interact and im making the distortion too human probably. but i figure since it seems like the powers can have personal vendettas, it makes sense that these two would be against each other, seeing as how they're opposites. plus helen would definitely love to sow a little chaos with the eye
> 
> EDIT AS OF NOVEMBER 11 2020, AFTER LISTENING TO EP 186  
> *squinting at Martin's conversation with himself about his mother* nice


	17. Fall from Grace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in which elias does what he does best, and we finally get some answers!

“So how does this magic manifest itself in you? Or in Jonathan Simms? How does it choose you? Because not everyone can be magic-” Entrapta gasped as a new idea came to her. “Or can it?! Is everyone magic?!”

Elias groaned, covered with a glowing net, stuck sitting at a desk in Jon’s office. “For the love of God,” He said. “Please stop talking.”

“Ah, sorry! There’s just so much to be learned and discovered here! Can you imagine the secrets and information that can be found in this place?!” She looked at Elias, eyes shining.

“I can, actually.” Elias said.

“Oh,” Entrapta retrieved her tape recorder. “Day two in this new dimension which I have yet to name. Subject is very cagey and rude.”

“I am not-” Then Elias paused, a small smile spreading across his face. “You really want to learn the secrets of this place?”

“More than anything!” Entrapta gasped.

“Well…” Elias sighed, and shook his head. “I really don’t know. This is a dangerous place. We wouldn’t want you to get hurt. Can you handle it?”

“Yes yes yes! Danger? Hah! I eat danger for breakfast! And tiny muffins.” Entrapta added.

Elias paused, seeming to think this over. “Well...alright. I suppose I need someone to help me research and learn-”

“I’m not helping you,” Entrapta said, suddenly wary. “I’m doing it for me.”

“Of course,” Elias said, backpedaling quickly. “The others told you not to trust me, is that right? I noticed they didn’t want you to take watch of me.”

“I...uh…” Entrapta fiddled with her thick purple hair. “They just...didn’t want me to get distracted. I can...get a bit excited and go off-track. They’re just worried about me!”

“If you say so,” Elias shrugged. “It seemed to me like they don’t trust you. That they’re only using you to make them the portal because they know you’re the only one who can do it.”

“That’s not true,” Entrapta said, doubt easy to hear in her voice. “You’re...you’re just a liar. A liar who hurts people.”

“If that’s what you wish to believe,” Elias shrugged. “Now, do you want me to answer your questions or not?”

Entrapta was quiet.

“Tell you what,” Elias said, voice soft and kind. “There’s a file somewhere in this place that lays everything out quite nicely. If you let me out-”

“No way!” Entrapta said. “I’m not gonna let you out!”

Elias sighed. “Fine. Fair enough. Go to the farthest shelf at the opposite end of the archives. In the box labeled Q4, the top file should help you out.”

Entrapta wrung her hands nervously. “...farthest shelf?”

“The place is bigger than it looks,” Elias assured her. “It’s an optical illusion.”

Entrapta was quiet for a long while, clearly weighing the pros and cons. “You...won’t leave?” Entrapta said carefully.

“My dear,” Elias said. “It’s been so long since I’ve gotten to have a conversation with someone who is an academic at the same level as myself. And maybe even higher. No one else here can appreciate the knowledge here like you can. Why on Earth would I want to miss out on such an opportunity?”

“You think I’m smart?” Entrapta said hopefully. “And not...impulsive or irresponsible?”

Elias looked genuinely shocked. “Only a fool would think that.”

Entrapta was quiet, and then her big smile returned, if a little unsure. “O-okay! I’ll be right back!” She sprinted out of the room, and through the brief window of time that the office door was open, Elias saw that everyone else appeared to be asleep. 

He waited for Entrapta’s footsteps to fade, and then began working on sticking his foot under the net.

*** *** ***

“I wish Swift Wind were here,” Adora said mournfully. “I bet he could sense the place we needed to go.” 

“Swift Wind?” Jon asked.

“My steed.” Adora explained.

“Ah, of course.” Jon said.

He shined the flashlight around the tunnel, noting that there was no writing on the wall. “Are we sure we’re going the right way?”

“No,” Adora said. “But it’s the only way there is.”

“Fantastic,” Jon muttered. He turned to Bow. “Can I...ask you a weird question?”

Bow blinked. “I guess?”

“So your thing is archery, right?” Jon asked, gesturing to the bow and quiver.

Bow nodded.

“And your name is Bow.” Jon said.

Bow nodded again.

“So...did your parents somehow know you were going to be an archer, or was it planned out, or…?” Jon trailed off.

“Oh no!” Bow laughed. “My dads are academics. They wanted me to help them out like my brothers. They were pretty scared that I was learning archery at first. They thought I was going to get hurt.” 

“So then you chose archery. As a joke, or…?” Jon asked.

“What?” Bow blinked, and then it suddenly dawned on him. He laughed. “Oh man! I never even thought about it that way! That’s crazy!”

“Yeah,” Jon said incredulously. “Crazy.”

His flashlight caught something shimmering up ahead, and he rushed forward. The tunnel opened up into a massive room, dark, but he could tell it was covered in tech. As soon as Adora stepped in, the room lit up. Similar to the temple, there was a control panel, but this time it had several more crystals.

Jon smiled.

The platform lit up, and the holographic female appeared. “Administrators detected,” She said. She seemed to be in much better shape than the last one. “Password required.”

“Eternia.” Adora said immediately.

The woman turned red. “Password denied. Two attempts remaining.”

“W-what?!” Adora sputtered. “U-uh, we’re friends of Mara!”

“Password denied. One attempt remaining.” The woman said.

Adora opened her mouth again, but this time, Bow covered it. “Adora. Think very carefully about what you’re going to say. If you aren’t absolutely sure it’s right, please don’t say it.”

“What happens if we get it wrong again?” Jon asked.

“Probably nothing good.” Adora said, squirming away from Bow.

“Right,” Jon said, staring at the holographic woman. “I think…” He said, and then trailed off. “Statement begins.” He said firmly to her.

“No-” Adora said, but the control panel lit up.

“Password correct. Welcome, Archivist. Welcome, She-Ra.” The woman said. 

Adora and Bow stared at Jon. “How...how did you know that?” Adora asked.

“I...didn’t,” Jon said. “I took a guess.” 

Bow pulled out his communications pad, fiddling with it. “Glimmer? Can you hear me? Are you alright?”

“Yeah, we’re fine! Catra stepped in mud, but other than that...did you find anything?” Glimmer’s tinny voice asked.

“Check it out.” Bow turned the pad around to show her the room. 

“Ooh!” There was a flash of light, and suddenly the four appeared in the room.

Martin looked disgruntled. “I don’t suppose we can have a warning?!”

“You fell in mud?” Adora asked, looking at a very dirty Catra.

“It was Sparkles fault! She didn’t make the light bright enough!” Catra said.

“It was pretty funny.” Martin said quietly.

Catra opened her mouth to argue, but Bow waved his hands. “Hello? We need to focus?”

“There’s a message port,” Adora said. “Jon, do you have that crystal with the message on it?”

“Ah, I think so…” Jon dug through his bag, retrieving the crystal. “Here.” He handed it to Adora, who carefully fitted it into a blank space.

The holographic woman shuddered. “This message breaks Blindside Protocol. Verbal confirmation of breach required.” 

“Uh...we verbally confirm.” Adora said. Nothing happened.

Jon felt all eyes turn to him.

“Me too.” He said after a moment.

“Confirmed,” The holographic woman said. “Playing final message from Grace.”

She disappeared, and the platform lit up a new figure sitting awkwardly in a chair. They looked up, and Jon stepped back. 

It was a young girl, who couldn’t have possibly been older than sixteen. She had bright red hair, and green eyes that might have once been playful, but where now right with pain. She had a large gash above her eyebrow, and was clutching her abdomen. Blood soaked through her ragged clothes. 

She reached offscreen, fiddling with something, and then seemed to focus directly on Jon. “If you’re seeing this…” she paused, taking a labored breath. “It means you’re the new Archivist and the new She-Ra.” 

“I…” she looked fearfully at something Jon couldn’t see. “I don’t know how much time I have, but...this is something you need to hear. Joseph-” Her face screwed up in grief, and she took a moment to collect herself. “-Joseph swears that your patron can’t find you in here, but I still don’t want to leave anything to chance. As long as the Archivist takes refuge here, this place is vulnerable to attack.”

“My name is Grace, and I was my people’s She-Ra.” Grace looked almost wistful. “A few years after I received the sword, we found...this place. We had been experimenting to see if there were other dimensions, so when we found this one, and a planet with life and magic…” She gave a weak laugh. “I was told I was helping. That I would bring a new era of peace and light to these people who...we were destroying their home from the inside out.”

She grimaced, clutching her wound tightly. After a long minute, she looked back up. “We quickly learned about...about the beings here that powered most of the magic. We had never seen anything like it. And the beings were just as interested in us as we were with them.”

“She-Ra...something about her, about her raw magic power that was so opposite to them drove them away. My people had me come down, killing their avatars, destroying monsters and disrupting their ritual. I thought…” Grace blinked several times, trying to drive away tears. “I thought I was helping. I thought…”

“And all the while the beings fed off the fear of those who lived here. We didn’t realize we made them stronger when we tore the Earth apart, sowing fear and desperation into the humans that were already here.” Grace looked down, ashamed. “I don’t remember where I met the Archivist. His name was Joseph. I didn’t even realize he was an avatar for the Eye until much later. We realized that we were only making these beings stronger, and they sought to leak into our home dimension.”

“I pleaded with my people, but they saw Joseph as another monster and tried to kill him. They nearly did.” Grace winced. “We ran, and...and I tried to drive my people away. We rebelled the best we could. But what could we hope to achieve? We had two incredible powers working against us. It was only a matter of time to see which one won.”

“By the time my people realized I was right, it was too late. When they opened the portal to leave, the Eye almost got through. It tried to force Joseph to go through. And when he refused his patron…” Grace’s eyes filled with tears, and she gasped in grief and pain.

She looked Jon in the eyes. “This place is made to drive out the entities, but Joseph and I managed to create this temple so that you, the Archivist, are allowed in, as long as you do not try to access your patron. The Eye can’t be allowed to learn my people’s secrets. None of them can.”

She shuddered. “The Archivist is the unique avatar. They have free will to do with their knowledge as they wish. They walked the fine line between human and inhuman, keeping the best parts of themself. Their love, their patience, their determination to do what’s right. None of the others can use their powers to help those they care for in such a way.” Grace coughed, blood spraying from her mouth. “Don’t...you can’t let the Eye win. You can’t let any of them win. If the beings manage to spread their fear across dimensions, they’ll gain unimaginable power. No one would be able to stop them. I’m begging you, Archivist. You cannot give into the Eye.”

She coughed once again. “If you’re seeing this message, it also means that somehow, She-Ra has found her way back here. She needs to leave. Her light alone draws attention, and when she transforms? Every eye will be on her. You have to leave. And you have to leave through this place. It’s the only place with enough pure magical energy to support a portal.”

Grace slumped against the seat, seeming to run out of steam. “...I’m going to die here.” She said softly. “They took the sword and left me. Servants of the Slaughter found me, and I barely got here alive. They can’t enter...but I can’t leave.”

Her eyes suddenly welled with tears. “I...everyone’s gone. Everyone has either abandoned me or died. And I...I wasn’t strong enough to stop it.”

The realization of her loneliness seemed to come suddenly, and Grace doubled over, sobbing in painful, wretched gasps. “I wasn’t strong enough. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry…”

She was still crying when the recording ended. 

Jon was still, shaking.

His eyes stung, and he rubbed them quickly when the holographic woman appeared. “Message ends.”

“God.” Martin said quietly.

“Mara wasn’t the only rebellion,” Adora said in a haunted voice, as though this was just a new horror in a long string of sad discoveries. “There were others. And...a past Archivist helped her. Grace, I mean.”

“And died doing it. Probably horribly.” Jon said in a flat voice. He wished he had a cigarette.

An awful, heavy silence pervaded the room. Watching a child soldier beg for her life and forgiveness tended to have that effect.

“If this place is hidden,” Jon said. “Then I need to remain here until everyone leaves. Otherwise the Eye will see me. It’ll know everything and be able to form a counterattack.”

“We need to be quick then. This place is vulnerable to everything else now.” Martin said.

“It’s going to take too long to get everyone back here.” Bow said.

“Not if we don’t have the right door.” Jon said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter title is really mean
> 
> EDIT AS OF EPISODE 197  
> The fact I lowkey predicted the alternate realities I-


	18. The Ceaseless Eye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know im about to take some liberties with netossa's nets but bear with me

Elias managed to catch the edge of this magic net between his shoe. There was the tiniest opening at the bottom of it, and if he angled it just right, he was able to pull his leg up to lift the net.

He carefully grabbed the bottom, throwing it off himself. He rooted around in the desk drawers, and found the keys, uncuffing his hand cuffs.

Clearly, they had underestimated him.

He heard something rattle in the distant archives, and hoped he had kept that annoying girl busy long enough to make his escape. He picked his way through the sleeping figures, nearly laughing at their cluelessness. 

Elias knew the institute like the back of his hand, and it was only a matter of avoiding creaky floorboards and squeaky doors before he was outside, in a private corner of the institute near the dumpster. The sun had just started to peak over the horizon.

“Going somewhere, darling?”

Elias turned, seeing that damn lizard creature, smiling at him as though Elias had done it a favor. “I think you’re supposed to be back inside.”

“What are you doing out here?” Elias asked it. It shrugged.

“Oh, I saw you slip out and thought I’d follow. Now-” It moved fast, and in a second, Elias was pinned to the wall with a small knife at his throat. “Let’s go back inside.”

“You really don’t-wait, you don’t have pockets, where did you get that knife from?” Elias asked, suddenly looking slightly concerned.

“Doesn’t matter. You’re coming with me, now.” It said, grabbing Elias’ arm. 

Elias jerked away, disgusted. “You have no idea, do you? How much danger you’re in. How everyone sees you.”

“Quit yammering.” It said.

“I’m merely trying to help you. You may be good at telling when others are lying, but do you even realize you’re lying to yourself?” Elias smiled widely. “You’re living in a world where beasts like you are not allowed to exist. Do you know what’s going to happen to you?”

Elias’ smile widened, and he stared intently at the overconfident, pompous freak. “ _This._ ”

In an instant, the thing stumbled back, gasping as images of capture and revealment flooded its mind. The knife clattered to the ground, but it was too distracted by a future of torture that was masked under a thin veil of science. And all the while, every being who looked upon it feared it and hated it with such a poison that it cut and hurt all on it’s own.

“I-I…” The thing gasped, trying not to collapse into hysterics. “That...that’s not true.”

“I’m afraid it very much is,” Elias brushed himself off, barely seeming to acknowledge the panicking being before him. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to leave you to think on that. I’ve got an impromptu meeting.” He turned, starting to leave.

“You won’t win.” 

Elias turned back. The creature was leaning against the dumpster for support. It looked at Elias, defiance still in its eyes. Somehow. “You won’t win.” It repeated.

“Oh? Do enlighten me on your logic.” Elias said.

“We’ve...we’ve beaten things like you before. You can’t win. Things like you can’t win.” It gasped.

Elias smiled. “Before I address your bold statement, might I ask; were you on the front lines of this fight?”

There was silence.

Elias shrugged. “I only ask because you don’t seem like the type to face down an enemy. You’re a lizard, belly low to the ground to hide, snatching up opportunities when you can, and fleeing at the first sign of trouble,” He chuckled. “Tell me, does your tail drop when you run and hide?”

“Shut up.” It snapped.

Elias strode forward. “And as for my winning...well, I hardly think that’s a question. I tried to warn you. I really did. I told you that you were messing with powers outside your comprehension. And now you’ve attracted the attention of my patron.” Elias sighed deeply.

“You come from another world, as I understand it. A place where magic works differently,” Elias knelt down slightly to reach the creature’s stooped height, smiling widely. He rested his hand on its shoulder gently. “Would you like to see what it will look like when I’m done?”

The creature opened its mouth to protest-

But it was too late.

*** *** ***

“This is a big leap from not trusting me.” Helen said.

“Trust me, we wouldn’t come to you if it weren’t an emergency.” Jon said, still uncomfortable with calling Helen, even in the tunnels away from the main room.

“You’re asking me to move a lot of people, Archivist.” Helen said.

“Can you not do it?” Adora asked.

“Oh, no, I can do it,” Helen said, waving her oversized fingers in dismissal. “It’s simply...such a temptation to keep a few.”

The glares were louder than screams.

“What? I’m being honest with you.” Helen said.

“What do you want?” Jon asked. “And don’t ask for something I won’t or can’t give you.”

“Well, that narrows my options considerably,” Helen grumbled. “Oh...well, I suppose your rib will have to do.”

“A what?!” Bow squeaked. 

“What would you need it for?” Jon asked.

“Um, you’re not actually considering-” Adora started to say, but Helen interrupted.

“It won’t do anything irreversible in terms of your health or sanity. Frankly, its decline doesn’t need my help,” Helen said. “It’s merely a way for me to find you better. And I do so enjoy your company.”

“How do I know you aren’t lying about this?” Jon demanded.

“I do not think I _can_ lie to you Archivist. And really, if you think back on it, have I ever tried too?” Helen asked.

“Alright, let’s regroup and think of a deal that doesn’t involve maiming. Any ideas-” Catra started, but this time Jon interrupted.

“Deal.” Jon said

The shocked and horrified “WHAT?!”s from the group were almost comical. It certainly made Helen laugh. “Oh, good deal, Archivist, good deal!”

Glimmer’s hands lit up. “Listen lady, I don’t know who you think you are, but we aren’t performing impromptu surgery!”

“...you don’t know?” Helen asked. She glanced at Martin, who stepped back under her gaze. “Even him?”

“Know what?” Martin asked hesitantly.

“It’s in the top left drawer of my office,” Jon said, careful to avoid eye contact with what he was sure were the horrified stares of the others. “You can get it there.”

“Mm,” Helen said. “Make one of the others do it. There could be some sort of spring trap in the drawer.”

“No one’s going to want to touch it.” Jon said.

“Just tell them it’s your lucky pen or something.” Helen suggested.

“I’m not-god, fine. Will you promise to get everyone here safely? No keeping anyone?” Jon asked, putting force into his voice.

Helen smiled. “You can’t bind me to promises Jon. But you do have my word. For however much its worth to you.” She stepped back, opening the door.

“Good. Glimmer and Catra, you should lead them. They’ll trust you. I need Bow and Adora to help me collect the rest of the crystals. Martin, you should go home.” Jon said. 

“What?! No!” Martin protested. 

Jon huffed, growing more frustrated. “Martin, there’s nothing more you can do-”

“I’m not letting you get rid of me! Especially considering you’ve lost a rib somehow-” Martin said.

“It’s fine. I’m fine. It’s not like I was using it.” Jon said.

“IT WAS A RIB!” Bow said, looking slightly panicked. “I-oh, I’m gonna throw up.” He turned around and started gagging.

“We can argue more about this later,” Jon said, feeling a bit irritated at this point. “Right now we need to start getting people out of there, now.”

“Jon-” Catra said, but Jon turned away.

“I said now! We don’t have time for this!” He snapped, striding back to the main room.

He pretended not to notice Bow and Adora following him as though walking on eggshells. 

“So…” Adora said, glancing at Bow. He nodded at her. “You seemed stressed.”

Bow facepalmed.

“I’m...simply not going to respond to that.” Jon said.

“Okay, what I think Adora is trying to say is that maybe we feel like you’re lashing out at us a bit much.” Bow said.

“That was worse.” Jon said.

“Okay, but...you lost a rib. And I’m not gonna ask what happened because you won’t tell me, and I don’t want to know…” Bow said, looking sick again.

“It had to be done. It’s fine.” Jon said firmly.

“We’re just...worried,” Adora said. “About you.”

“Don’t be, then.” Jon snapped.

“This is a dangerous mission, and we just want to make sure you’re not...charging in with reckless abandon.” Bow said.

Jon laughed with no humor. “This isn’t the first time I’ve been involved in something like this.”

Bow and Adora looked at each other.

“Stop…” Jon gestured wildly, frustrated but not entirely sure why. “Stop _doing_ that.”

“What?” Bow asked.

“Looking at me like...like I’m fragile. Like I’ll break down if I say the wrong word. I’m _fine._ I don’t have a martyr complex, I don’t really want to die, but if that’s what it comes down to, fine. I always seem to weasel out of it somehow anyway. Worst comes to worst, the world loses a monster.” Jon snapped, focusing on grabbing data crystals despite his shaking hands.

“...Grace didn’t think you were a monster.” Adora said.

Jon paused, and then took a deep breath, slowly releasing it. “Well, she was wrong.”

“BOW!” Jon jumped at the sudden shout, and turned to see Entrapta barrel into Bow. “You haven’t been answering the calls on the data pad, I thought...I thought…” Her eyes were brimming with tears.

“H-hey, I’m okay. It’s just a glitch, we can fix it-what happened?” He asked immediately, suddenly noticing the downcast eyes on the rest of the group as they filed in. Catra looked furious. 

“It’s all my fault!” Entrapta wailed. “I was on watch and I just had so many questions and I thought it would be okay if I looked around because Netossa’s nets are strong and they’ve always worked and I’m so sorry!” She sniffed desperately, trying to keep it together. “Please don’t be mad at me!”

“Woah, woah, Entrapta, calm down. What happened?” Adora asked.

“He got out.” A dull voice said. Double Trouble was leaning against the wall, eyes downcast and holding an emotion Jon didn’t quite recognize. “Elias escaped.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you don't think dt carries around a little knife for lock picking and sticky situations you are wrong
> 
> also here i am! first post from my college dorm! i am...okay. i think. this book helps. i do be feeling like jon everytime i read a comment: refreshed and encouraged. 
> 
> anyway, in case you're wondering if it gets worse, yes. it does


	19. Succumbing to Fear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i should be asleep, but...
> 
> it wouldn't be a story by me without some gratuitous angst and a healthy dose of whump

“Shit.” Jon said.

“That about sums it up,” Netossa said. “I don’t know how he got out. But Entrapta burst in on us in a panic, and Double Trouble said he got away.”

“You let him get away.” Basira muttered.

“I didn’t hold the door open for him,” Double Trouble snapped, stiffening. They were clutching their side as though it was hurting them again. “I tried to stop him.”

“No one’s blaming you.” Martin said carefully.

“They should be blaming me!” Entrapta wailed, still completely distraught.

“That’s alright.” Jon said, feeling not alright at all. He ran his hands through his hair and let out a long breath. “It’s fine. We just have to be faster.”

“I-I don’t know if I can make a portal before Elias gets here.” Entrapta said.

“Well, you’re going to have to try.” Jon said. 

“Maybe we could barricade the door?” Perfuma suggested. She wrung her hands, and little green vines grew around her ankles as proof of her nerves. “That could buy us a little time. Every little bit counts.”

“Yes, yes, great idea. Then he’ll find some shears and then use them on us.” Double Trouble said.

Perfuma looked like she was about to shoot something back, and then took a deep breath. “Double Trouble, do you have an idea you’d like to share with the group?”

Double Trouble muttered something.

“What was that?”

“I said we leave!” Double Trouble snapped, suddenly gaining an almost manic like energy, pacing the room. “We leave right now. Spread far and wide before he gets here. He can’t see us. At least I don’t think he can.”

“But...if we leave, we can’t go home.” Frosta said in a small voice.

Double Trouble smiled, a lifeless, toothy grin. “It’s that or grisly death, dearest. Make your choice.”

“He got you, didn’t he.” Melanie said suddenly. It wasn’t a question. 

Double Trouble didn’t answer, but their tail twitched.

“Christ…” Jon said, turning away. 

“I’ll kill him.” Catra said.

Double Trouble laughed now. It was one of the most hollow noises Jon had ever heard. “I’d like to see you try, kitten.”

“What did he show you?” Melanie asked.

Martin winced. “Melanie, I-”

“Oh, no no no! I’m happy to share! Maybe it’ll be useful! It’s either I do it myself or dear Jonathan drags it out of me!” Double Trouble’s pacing increased in speed. 

Jon gritted his teeth, but didn’t say anything.

“He’s going to get in. He’s going to let his...his god thing in. And then all the others. And it’s going to take our magic, drain it, and twist it into a nightmare beyond recognition. And then he’s just...just going to _look at it_ ,” Double Trouble’s voice starting approaching a feverish hysteria. “Just look at it. Like...like it’s a project he’s proud of and just finished up. That’s what it is. There’s almost no magic here. But there’s just _so much_ for them to take back home.”

“Then we’ll stop him.” Scorpia said, trying to gain Double Trouble’s attention. She held out her pincers, offering an island in a sea of terror. “We’ve done it before. We’ll do it again.”

Double Trouble backed away from her as though she had threatened them, a pained smile still plastered to her face. “See, that’s what I said the first time, and then he showed me that.”

“First time?! Christ, what-” Jon started, but Double Trouble waved at him frantically.

“It doesn’t matter! What does matter is we need to leave, now!” Double Trouble snapped.

“If Elias showed you something, and not to mention did it twice, you need to tell me.” Jon said.

“Jon...” Spinnerella said, holding onto Netossa tightly.

Double Trouble nearly fell back, staring at Jon with wild fear. “No no no no, don’t do that _thing_ , I’m begging you…”

“Jon, please.” Adora said softly.

“We don’t know if they’re compromised. Elias could have cut a deal with them, or could have twisted their mind. We don’t know,” Jon said, turning to Double Trouble. “I need to know.”

Double Trouble scrambled back, this time falling for real with a pain yell, clutching their side in their stained blue hands, pleading desperately. “Jonathan, please, don’t, I can’t...I can’t-don’t come any closer!”

“Double Trouble, what-” Jon started.

“Jon, you can’t!” Martin shouted, grabbing his arm. Jon yanked away in surprise. “Remember what Grace said! You can’t do that here!”

Jon was quiet, and then let out a slow breath. “...you’re right.”

“You were going to do it,” Double Trouble said softly, voice wheezy. “You were really going to do it.”

Their head bowed, hiding their eyes. “Elias was right.”

Jon flinched, the full weight of Double Trouble’s fragile state crashing down like an avalanche. “Christ, I...Double Trouble-”

“You know, Jonathan...” Double Trouble said in a voice with more strength, but the strength was backed by something Jon didn’t know if he liked. They looked up, their smile back, and Jon saw it in their eyes. 

Cruelty. 

“I think I have a pretty good grasp on your character now,” They said, forcing themselves to their feet with badly disguised grunts of pain. “But you’ll have to tell me what you think.”

The shadowy aura surrounded them, and Jon felt sick. 

A new copy of Jonathan Simms stood, clutching their side desperately. “My name is Jonathan Simms, Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute,” The copy said in a perfect mimic of the voice. “And I don’t care about anyone.”

“Double Trouble-” Bow started, but the copy ignored him.

“Frankly, people are a nuisance, unless they can be used for my benefit. We’ve got quite the rotating staff here at the archives. What’s our body count again? We’ve got Sasha, Tim...who knows how many others! But that doesn’t really matter, does it?” The copy stared at Jon, who stepped back, feeling more nauseous than ever. “All that matters is that in the end, I win. And I always find a way out. It’s like magic. But we don’t call it magic. It’s just evil.”

“Stop that.” Martin said.

“Oh oh!” The copy turned their attention to Martin, who paled, but didn’t step back. “And the funniest part, the part that makes it easy, is that people keep _trusting_ me! As if I don’t have a track record of being perfectly careless with the lives of others! Some of them-” The copy paused to wince in pain. “Some of them even think I have the capacity to care about them.”

“That’s enough, Double Trouble.” Jon said firmly. 

“And what if it isn’t?” Double Trouble asked, their eyes suddenly returning to their original state, creating the eerie look of snake eyes on what was otherwise a perfect copy of Jon. “What if I just kill you here and take your place? Do you know what would happen, Jonathan?”

“Nothing.” They said softly. They flinched hard, and suddenly it was Double Trouble again, a mess of green and blue. 

“Absolutely nothing. Because you don’t have anyone left. You don’t have anyone left to love you because they’ve all died or you chased them away.” They stumbled, barely avoiding collapse. 

They managed to look Jon in the eyes, smiling in spite of the tears on their face. “That...that was pretty good, wasn’t it?”

“Double Trouble, you’re hurt-” Catra reached out, touching their shoulder gently.

Double Trouble flailed as though struck by lightning, new panic in their face. “DON’T TOUCH ME!” They panted, looking at Catra with strange fury. “Don’t ever touch me again or I swear-” Their voice shifted, becoming a deep, feminine, almost musical voice. “-I swear I’ll be her. I will.”

Catra’s eyes widened, and she stepped back. Adora looked equally horrified. 

“Stay away…” Double Trouble said, starting to sway. “Don’t...don’t come near me...I...I don’t want to hurt anyone, I swear, just…” Their voice slurred dangerously. “Just let me go home…”

Their legs gave out, and Scorpia only just managed to catch them before they hit the stone floors, a trail of blue blood following them.

The room was silent, except for Frosta’s muffled crying, and Double Trouble’s desperate, slurred pleas to an unstoppable assailant to be let go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter title is also mean for many reasons


	20. Corridors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there's an abandoned church and graveyard on campus and i've already made some weird friends so we are going ghost hunting babeeey
> 
> also no offense why are you guys simping so hard for helen. i mean im a chaotic lesbian, i get it, but some of this is getting crazy
> 
> sorry this is kinda late. i crashed hard today i dont have much energy. im probably only gonna be able to do a chapter per day for a little

There was only a few beats of stillness before the Princess Alliance sprang into action like a well rehearsed pit crew. Adora took off her jacket, tearing it to use as a new bandage. Bow rushed forward to help Scorpia hold onto the thrashing Double Trouble. 

Perfuma stretched her hands out, deciding to go with her barricade idea, and vibrant plants dotted with pink, hibiscus-like flowers began to cover the entrance to the room.

“I didn’t realize they were this bad,” Adora said, looking guilty. “I’d transform as She-Ra to heal them, but...it’s too dangerous here-oof!” She fell back with a grunt as she got kicked in the stomach by Double Trouble, who was still flailing wildly, under the impression they were surrounded by enemies.

“Can’t you hold them down?!” Catra asked.

“I-I don’t want to hurt them!” Bow said, narrowly avoiding being bitten. 

“Can’t you just hit them with a stick or something to at least knock them out?” Melanie asked, looking a bit distraught.

“Yeah, that’s a great idea! They’re already bleeding out, let’s give them a concussion-Frosta put the ice fists away!” Catra snapped.

“I’m just trying to help!” Frosta said, trying to look like she wasn’t crying.

“Gah!” Scorpia said, apparently deciding for herself. Her stinger went down, and Double Trouble went limp.

“You killed them!” Daisy said, shocked.

“N-no! It’s fine! It’s not deadly!” Scorpia said immediately, gently setting Double Trouble down. Adora knelt down, carefully wrapping her torn jacket around Double Trouble’s midsection.

“Glimmer, do you have any kind of healing spell?” Bow asked.

She paused, and nodded. “I-I think so. Yes, I do. One second…” With an air of intense concentration, she closed her eyes, making a circle in the air with her thumb and forefinger. A bright purple circle outlined by intricate ruins appears in the air, glowing with a gentle light. She pushed the circle out, and it fell onto Double Trouble, disappearing into dust when it made contact with them.

“Did it work?” Scorpia asked. 

Glimmer nodded slowly. “I-I think so. It’s not a perfect solution though. We need to get home.”

“Another reason to get this thing built fast, then.” Basira said quietly. 

“Ah,” Entrapta said, looking panicked. “T-there’s so much pressure!”

“You’ve done this before, you can do it again.” Bow said.

Entrapta yanked her ponytails, looking more distressed than ever. “I haven’t ever built a portal under this kind of pressure!”

“Alright, alright-” Melanie grabbed Entrapta, turning her to face herself. She had to kneel down a bit to reach her height. “What’s the first step?”

“Ah, I gotta examine the data crystals, see which ones are in working order! And then-” She started, but Melanie cut her off.

“No no. Data crystals. Nothing else. Then tell me what comes next. Can anyone help you with the crystals?” Melanie asked.

“Y-yeah, Bow.” Entrapta said. 

“Go help her.” Melanie said, letting the girl go. Entrapta scurried to the crystals with new purpose.

“Jon-” She turned, pausing.

“Jon?”

*** *** ***

“Christ.” Jon said to himself, pacing up and down the dirty corridor. Everytime he blinked, he saw Double Trouble’s horrified face, and then his own face, loudly declaring his emptiness. 

He thought back to Helen, her claim of simply obeying her nature. She wasn’t bound by morals and laws. She simply did as she saw fit. Jon nearly laughed, almost wishing he had that excuse. 

But this place sheltered him from the Eye and it’s control. That was him. Just Jonathan Simms.

“Christ.” He said again. He wished so desperately for a cigarette, knowing full well it would probably suffocate him if he smoked it in a tunnel. Maybe that wasn’t so bad. He had suffocated already, and at least here there wouldn’t be the crushing weight of earth on his chest.

“Jon!”

Jon jerked his head up, startled to see Martin running towards him with a flashlight. He panted, skidding to a stop. “I...I mean we didn’t know where you went.”

“Well, congratulations,” Jon said, squinting in the flashlight’s bright light. “You’ve found me.”

“W-well, we gotta get back. Entrapta-that’s her name right?-is making the portal, and she needs help. I-I mean, Bow is helping her now, but I also think it’s smart if we...don’t...run off,” Martin trailed off. “...we...need to get back. The flower one took down her vine wall so we could look for you-”

“‘We’?!” Jon repeated. “How...how many people are looking for me?!”

“Jon, you know I can’t remember any of their names-”

“Are you serious?!” Jon asked. “Why do they need me so bad?!”

“I-we’re. We’re worried about you.” Martin said.

Jon snorted. “Worried about me?”

“Double Trouble-” Martin said, but Jon cut him off.

“Was right. And they’re in far more need of attention than I am right now.” Jon said.

“That doesn’t mean you don’t need help just because they’re in a worse state.” Martin said.

“Christ, I-” Jon rubbed his eyes, feeling a migraine forming. “Did you not listen to anything they said?!”

“Well, yes. I was there.” Martin said.

“This isn’t funny,” Jon snapped. “It’s serious.”

“Jon, Double Trouble was scared out of their mind and not thinking straight. What they said wasn’t true or fair.” Martin said.

“Then let’s look at the facts, shall we?!” Jon said. “Sasha-taken by some _thing_ while we hid out in the tunnels after she went to get help for us. Help for _me_. Two, Tim. I was right there! The explosion should have killed me! It _did_ kill me! Yet here I am!” 

“I keep making the same mistakes over and over again, and people around me keep getting hurt because of it!” Jon gestured wildly. “For God’s sake, you’re working for something upstairs now! At least you’re less likely to get blown up, or eaten by worms, or taken by a monster, or whatever else happens to the people who cross me!”

Jon sighed, deflating. He leaned against the wall, sliding down. “Christ, when did it all go so wrong?”

Martin was quiet for a long moment, and then sat down next to Jon. “...but what about right now?”

“What?” Jon asked.

“I mean...there’s a roomful of people right down there who you’re risking your life to help.” Martin said. 

“And there’s several other people there who I’m supposed to keep out of harm’s way.” Jon said.

“They chose to come here.” Martin said.

Jon looked up, shocked.

“Basira, Daisy, and Melanie. They chose to come. Helen told them you hadn’t said they had too, but they wanted to help.” Martin said. 

“And you?” Jon asked.

“...yeah. I still want to help,” Martin said. “I...I’m just worried about you.”

“It seems to be a running theme,” Jon grumbled. “I’m fine. I’m not made of glass.”

“Jon, you _died_. There was a while where I was under the impression where you hadn’t, magic died, but were just plain dead. Casket and everything. People were talking about whether or not they were going to your funeral like...like it was some event they hadn’t decided was worth it yet. It was awful.” Martin said quietly. 

Jon blinked. “...I didn’t know that.”

“And I know…” Martin took a deep breath. “That you’re self-destructive, and brave, and maybe a little stupid-”

“Hey-”

“But you are risking your lives for those people out there. And...it doesn’t excuse you. You definitely have a lot of apologizing to do to them. I’m not trying to say that…” Martin took a deep breath. “But Double Trouble is wrong. And I think they know that. A heartless monster doesn’t put their own ass on the line for their friends.” Martin took another deep breath. “And they’re wrong about no one caring about you.”

Jon was quiet. “Martin, I-”

“How touching.” An amused voice said. 

Jon and Martin leapt to their feet. Martin swung the flashlight around to show a woman standing in the dead center of the tunnel. She wore a black blazer over a white button down, with red pants and beat up looking penny loafers. Her black hair was in a tattered pixie cut, and her eyes and smile were alive with sadistic light.

“Hello, Archivist. Long time, no see,” Jude Perry said, barely able to contain her excitement. “How’s your hand?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i felt like i went a little heavy with dt's breakdown, but apparently yall recieved it "well", so that's good. i mean, i would react pretty poorly if someone showed me everything i love torn to pieces
> 
> oh and hey I made a playlist for this book if yall want it. feel free to suggest songs
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/521g31Ud40I6P2gw5tGqVa?si=c65snWSvSEekHZ62jM24Xg


	21. The Assembly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the wait! i wrote a chapter last night and just...could not post it.
> 
> so i deleted it, and re-did it
> 
> this one still isn't perfect, but we do need to move this story along to the end. and we are close to the end.
> 
> hopefully you enjoy!

“How did you get down here?” Martin asked.

“I’m on a mailing list for stuff like this,” Jude said sarcastically, smiling too widely at her own joke. 

“Stay back.” Jon said, glaring at her.

She laughed. “Or what? You’ll make me answer questions? Go ahead, I can multitask.” She flexed her fingers menacingly. Jon wasn’t sure how one flexed their fingers menacingly, but Jude managed. 

“I hear there’s people down here,” She said softly. “And a new place. A new place to spread fire and perfect destruction.” Her eyes shined brightly at the thought. “Can you imagine?”

“I try not too.” Jon said.

She laughed. “Oh, you should, Archivist. You should.”

“Jon…” Martin said, clearly nervous.

“It’s fine,” Jon lied, suddenly aware he was sweating. And it wasn’t from the nerves. “We’re fine.”

Jude grinned. “I don’t mean to interrupt your little heart to heart here, but…” Jon felt uncomfortably hot. “Where are they?”

“Don’t do this, Jude,” Jon said. “If you do something here, you’ll end up crushing the tunnels.”

“Then I suppose you’ll have to tell me where they are quickly.” She said, feral grin like a flame.

“Jon, are you-” Adora rounded the corner and paused. “Who’s...this?” She asked carefully.

Jude laughed. “The first of many, sweetheart. Is this what we’re up against? Teenagers?”

Adora stepped forward, never taking her eyes off of Jude. “You two get back to the main room. Help in any way you can. We need to leave. Now.”

“But what about you?” Martin asked.

“I can manage.” Adora said. She stretched her arm out, as if reaching to grab something out of the air. The area around her hand began to glow brightly, as if she were holding a miniature star. Jude stepped back.

“For the honor of Grayskull!” 

Instantly, the tunnel was flooded with light so bright that Jon had to look away. He felt energy unlike anything he had felt before flood the area like a tsunami, and when the light died slightly enough for him to look again, he gasped.

Double Trouble had been right. They hadn’t been able to do She-Ra justice. Adora had completely transformed, towering over everyone by several feet. She held the sword in her hand with ease, as though she had been training with it all her life. Energy-no, magic-exuded from her with such raw power that Jon could physically feel it, like a gentle earthquake.

Jude looked completely shocked, stumbling back several feet, naked fear on her face for a moment before she covered it up with a glare. “This...what is this?! Who gave you this power?!”

“No one,” Adora-no, She-Ra-said, voice carrying the weight of a queen. “It’s mine.”

“You...you can’t, it’s not...no!” Jude said, looking distraught.

She-Ra stepped back, pointing her sword at Jude, on the offensive. “Go!” She said to Jon and Martin.

Jude charged forward with a yell, rather unwisely. The sword instantly transformed into a shield, and She-Ra blocked Jude and pushed her aside like she weighed nothing. Jon grabbed Martin’s arm, taking off.

“Oh my God,” Martin gasped. “Oh my God.” 

Jon agreed.

They charged into the room, nearly tripping over the strewn pieces of scrap metal that Entrapta was using. Double Trouble was awake, and whatever Glimmer had done had helped significantly. They still looked unsteady on their feet, but instead of ‘on the brink of death’ awful, they just looked ‘traumatized’ awful. They looked away quickly when they saw Jon.

“Where’s Adora?!” Catra asked immediately.

Jon couldn’t answer, panting. He pointed at the tunnel. 

Catra’s face went steely. “That idiot,” She muttered. “Now everyone in the world is going to come here.” She touched Melog gently, and the two disappeared, an invisible cavalry.

“Ahhhhhh!” Entrapta said, fidgeting. “What’s happening?!”

“Jude...Perry…” Jon gasped. “She’s part of the Desolation. Fire, burning, loss, pain...that wort of thing.”

“Great,” Mermista said. “And here I thought I was going to get a break from arson when I left by boyfriend in charge of Salineas.”

“You left Sea Hawk in charge?” Bow asked.

“Ugh, it’s fine.” Mermista said.

Bow looked doubtful.

“Shit! Jon! Spiders!” Basira said suddenly, jumping away from the wall where she had been leaning. Spiders were pouring through a tiny crack in the wall, beady eyes reflected in the light of the room.

“Gah!” Jon stumbled back, and noticed that if there was a crack in the wall, spiders were coming through it. Big, hairy ones that were so big you could hear them scuttle on the ground. Or maybe that was just his paranoia.

“I-I got it!” Glimmer said, quickly creating another glowing ruin in the air. She pushed it out towards the spiders, and they immediately caught on fire, scuttling around faster to various parts of the room.

“WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!” Bow shrieked.

“I-I was thinking about what Jon said about the crazy fire lady, and it was the first thing that popped into my mind!” She said, stomping on the spiders. “It took care of the spider problem!”

“WELL NOW WE HAVE A FIRE PROBLEM!” Daisy said, taking off her jacket to smother flames.

More spiders continued to appear, despite Perfuma’s best efforts to plug up the walls with plants. Something dropped on Jon’s head and he looked up. His heart skipped a few beats at the sight of the ceiling forming huge cracks. 

“Oh, God, no.” He said quietly, dread building in his stomach.

“How much longer?!” Basira shouted to Entrapta.

“I-I don’t know! I’m going as fast as I can!” Entrapta said. Her arms were focused on screwing pieces of shrapnel together while one ponytail swatted spiders and the other grabbed more materials.

“Hang on!” Netossa shouted, one of her net balls appearing in her hand. She tossed it up, and it covered the group. Rocks bounced off it with audible thumps, and Netossa was clearly straining.

The ground shifted, and Jon almost laughed at this point at the overkill of it all. There was no reason the ground should open up into a vast, empty pit of darkness, but here it was, slowly falling away, not like it did before when the temple attacked Jon, but with slow deliberateness that was meant to build dread. And it worked.

The ground shook violently, throwing Jon across the room roughly. He shouted in pain when he landed on his side, sending a spike of pain through his ribs. The floor tilted, and Jon scrambled to try and regain his footing, but it was too late. He was falling, and when he glanced back, he saw an empty pit, one that maybe went on forever. 

He would have laughed if he hadn’t been about to die. The Vast and the Buried working in conjunction? Hilarious.

Someone grabbed his hand, and Jon jerked his head back, grabbing his lifeline desperately.

Double Trouble was holding onto him tightly, a strange look on their face.

“Hang on!” They yelled, yelping when they realized they were slipping down with Jon. “Oh dear-” They looked back desperately, and in a second, wrapped their tail around a rock.

“Gah!” They winced, refusing to let go, but being pulled by the weight at the same time. Jon could see their tail slipping, scraping along the edges of the rock. 

Jon managed to get his feet on the new cliff face, pulling himself up. Double Trouble hauled him over the side, immediately letting go and grabbing their badly scraped tail. “Oh no, my tail, no no no…” They said mournfully.

Despite the chaos, Jon looked at them incredulously. “You’re worried about your tail?!”

“It’s one of my best features!” Double Trouble said, looking at it with worry. An odd expression dawned on their face, and they laughed with no humor. “He said…” They gritted their teeth in a tight, pained smile. “Elias said something about this. He asked if...I dropped my tail when I ran. Like a lizard.” They looked oddly satisfied with themselves. “I guess not.” They decided, dropping their tail.

“I’m sorry,” Jon said suddenly. “I...I was afraid. Afraid of what might have happened if he got in your head and managed to twist it against us.”

“You thought I cut a deal. Like a mercenary.” Double Trouble said harshly.

Jon winced. “A little, yes. I thought...you would have lost it, I suppose. I don’t know. But...I’m sorry. I never should have tried to do that. Especially after what Elias did.”

Double Trouble was quiet. “I...suppose I went a bit overboard with my performance,” They sniffed delicately. “I accept your apology, Jonathan.”

“We’re going to get you and your friends home,” Jon said. “One way or another. I promise.”

Double Trouble squished a particularly fat spider with the heel of their boot. “Don’t be too careless with promises, Jonathan,” They said. “It may come back to bite you.”

There was a loud **WHIR** and pulsing noise, and Jon heard Entrapta cackling. “I got it! I got it!” She grinned with a contagious excitement.

“The portal’s working!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh! and I have a tumblr now!
> 
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/toadintheroad
> 
> come say hi!


	22. So Please, Just This Once; Stay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *rolls in sipping a caramel macchiato and wearing heart shaped sunglasses*  
> sorry this was late i was having a gender crisis. among other things

“Good!” Melanie said, relief clear in her voice. “Now go!”

“Uh, we can’t,” Entrapta said, tapping away on her data pad, seemingly indifferent to the chaos around her. “I need to get in contact with Etheria first! But now that there’s a communication line open, it should only take a couple minutes!”

“WHAT?!” Basira shouted. “ARE YOU SERIOUS?!”

“Entrapta, I can’t hold this much long!” Netossa shouted, physically shaking in exertion.

“I know, I know!” Entrapta said. “Hello?!” She called into the data pad. “Hordak?! Wrong Hordak?! Is anybody there?”

Static. 

“Uh…” Entrapta said, still tapping away at the data pad. “Don’t worry! I can fix it!”

“Oh God,” Jon gasped, stepping back, staring at the walls in the places where the First Ones’ writing still remained untouched. “Oh God.”

“What?! What’s wrong?!” Double Trouble asked.

“I...I can read it now.” Jon said quietly, feeling sick. 

Double Trouble’s face fell. “...oh no.”

“Gah!” She-Ra backed into the room, slashing at something. Her outfit had burn marks on it, but She-Ra herself seemed untouched. “Entrapta! How much longer?!”

“I-I don’t know! I’m trying to get in touch with the others but they aren’t answering!” She said, starting to look panicked.

“Ah!” Netossa shouted, her net flickering. She managed to keep it up, but fell to her knees roughly. Spinnerella rushed to her side.

“You need to go, now,” Jon told She-Ra. “I can read the First Ones’ writing. That can’t be a good sign-where’s Catra?”

As if on cue, she appeared, Melog right next to her. She was in slightly worse shape than She-Ra, a small burn on her shoulder. “I’m fine, thanks for asking.” She said.

“Where’s Jude?”

“Delayed by rocks. Hopefully for a while,” She-Ra said. She glanced back behind her to Jon. “Try to ignore the writing.”

“How’s that going to help?!” Daisy demanded.

She-Ra ignored her, going to Entrapta’s side. “What can we do to help?” 

“I don’t know!” Entrapta said. “It’s like there’s something blocking the signal, not letting it get through!”

“It’s me,” Jon said quietly, a feeling of horror slowly building in him. “It has to be.”

“It can’t be,” Martin said, rushing to Jon’s side. “You haven’t left!”

“But I’ve arrived.”

Elias Bouchard walked into the room as easily as if he were walking into a less than ideal restaurant; a look of vague disappointment on his face, as though he had expected more but shouldn’t have.

Double Trouble stiffened, and Jon reached out and touched their arm gently. Double Trouble glanced back to him, a look of fear mixed with silent gratitude on their face. 

“You’re not welcome here.” She-Ra said, her voice easily heard even above the cacophony.

Elias stopped where he was, his confidence wavering for just a moment. It was almost funny; an immovable object meets an unstoppable force.

“The door was open,” Elias said. “I let myself in.”

“You can’t do this,” Jon said. “You’ll destroy them. You’ll destroy it all.”

Elias looked at Jon with open disappointment. “I would have expected better from you by now, Jon. I would have hoped you could see the possibilities.”

“Possibilities? Possibilities of what, spreading more harm? Haven’t you done enough of that?” Jon asked, glancing over to Entrapta, who was frantically tapping away on her keyboard. If he could just stall Elias.

“Me? You mean _us_ , Jon. We share a patron, we share our victories, and most importantly, we share power,” Elias smiled widely. “And you cannot even begin to comprehend what that power can do. Or rather...you could. You just choose not too.”

Elias sighed. “You really should be thanking me, you know. You would have never made it this far, survived this long without my help.”

“Your help?” Jon laughed. “Your help was sending me across the world uselessly, giving me little bits of information and then telling me to figure it out. Your help...your help was manipulating me into carrying out your dirty schemes! Your help was murdering Gertrude, and then Leitner, and then blaming it on me! Your help was never telling me what was going on! Never once did you sit me down and tell me what to do! The fucking world was on the line, or was that not enough to make your stop your little power trip?!”

“Telling you everything isn’t how you play the game, Jon.” Elias said, in a tone that seemed to imply that Elias was the patient one here.

“Then maybe you’re just no good at playing it.” Double Trouble said.

“And you,” Elias said, fixing his gaze on Double Trouble. “Are quite stupid to continue running your mouth.”

“Don’t even look at them,” Jon stepped in front of Double Trouble. “I’m not going to let you hurt my friends.” He said fiercely. 

Elias’ eyes flicked lazily over the group, settling for a moment longer on Melanie, Martin, and then with a big smile, Double Trouble, who set their jaw and met Elias’ gaze easily.

“It seems like you already have.” He said.

Jon stepped back, but Martin put his hand on his shoulder. “That was you, Elias,” Martin said in a steely voice. “You hurt people. That was you. You decided to do that.”

“ARGH!” Melog and Catra appeared, having been invisible before, and Catra leapt at Elias with a furious battle cry. Elias stumbled back, shocked, but it was too late. Catra’s arm came down in a blur, and Elias fell back with a shout of pain, clutching his cheek.

Blood ran down his cheek in dark rivers, and his hand wasn’t big enough to cover up the three claw marks stretching from the edge of his left eyebrow to the tip of his chin.

“I warned you!” Catra shouted, and turned to Entrapta. “Hurry, before he lets his god in!”

“It’s already here.” Elias said, looking Jon dead in the eye.

“I got it! I have the signal!” Entrapta said, managing to overcome the Eye, at least for a moment, and several things happened at once.

Firstly, the portal flashed more brightly, purple light nearly blinding them as gravity suddenly became optional, the falling rocks now hanging uselessly in the air, clashing into each other. Some people floated, some didn’t. It was like a Russian Roulette of balance, and Elias’ blood flowed eerily, droplets suspended in the air.

Secondly, the writing on the wall turned a bright, poison green. It started at the edge of the room, racing across towards the portal like the Eye was using the knowledge itself as a highway into Etheria. She-Ra drove the point of her sword into the ground, and a shimmering bubble of light extended around her and the portal, and the poison light stopped short, although it was pushing to edge forward. She-Ra’s expression turned to one of exertion, in a battle of wits with the Ceaseless Watcher. 

Finally, Jonathan Simms collapsed to the ground, clutching his head, screaming in pain as the Eye began to tear him apart from the inside out.

*** *** ***

“Jon!” Martin gasped, falling to his knees besides Jon. Double Trouble followed suit, though they winced slightly at the sudden movement.

“What’s happening?!” They asked, looking panicked. Jon writhed, holding his head tightly as he unsuccessfully tried to hold in a howl of pain.

“We need to go! Now!” Entrapta said. “She-Ra can’t hold off the Eye forever!”

“It’s killing Jonathan! We can’t!” Double Trouble said.

Martin remembered Grace’s tale with a sickening twist in his stomach. _It tried to make him let go through._

Double Trouble grabbed Jon’s arm, and he jerked away harshly, starting to stand again. Martin gasped when he caught sight of his eyes.

They were no different, really. They weren’t glowing or anything. They were the same shape, same size, same hazel color that had the odd gray around the edges.

But they were not Jon’s eyes. In a way that Martin couldn’t even begin to describe, they were wrong. 

“I…” Jon’s voice sounded ragged, and he blinked. His eyes were his again, scared and filled with pain. “I won’t!”

He collapsed to the ground again, forehead against the dirt, practically tearing his hair out. “I won’t!” He shouted again, voice raw. “I won’t! I won’t hurt them!” And then he devolved into screams.

Elias was laughing. 

Martin’s heart twisted, and he went to Jon, grabbing his hand. Jon didn’t seem to notice, too busy fighting for control of his own mind to notice anything else other than his agony. The poison lights crept closer to the portal, and She-Ra grunted. 

“We need to go, or we’ll be trapped here!” Entrapta said.

There was too much. The portal’s crackling, She-Ra’s struggle with the Eye, the Princess Alliance’s efforts not to be crushed by wayward rocks, Elias’ laughter, and worst of all, Jon’s screams of pain.

Martin closed his eyes and took a breath. He squeezed Jon’s hand.

_It’s...it’s terrifying, you know? To just be honest, and vulnerable. Especially with the people you love. And...sometimes you’ll get hurt because of it. Really hurt. But no one is ever going to really know you, to love you like you deserve unless you take that risk._

“Jon,” Martin said, not even sure if Jon could hear him. “Jon, you can’t...you can’t let it win. Please. I know you’re scared and I...I know it hurts so so much, but we…” He paused. “ _I_ need you to fight it. I know you can, I know you can do it. You have to help our friends.”

Jon gave a strangled scream, and Martin’s heart twisted. He squeezed Jon’s hand again, anything to let him know he wasn’t alone. And maybe even a little for Martin’s own benefit, to assure himself that he wasn’t alone either. Not now. 

“You can’t leave, Jon,” Martin said, his voice barely above a whisper. “I...I need you. You have to wake up. You can’t give up now, not when you’ve come this far. Elias...Elias was wrong. He’s always been wrong. He didn’t make you stronger. He didn’t make you better. You’re strong _despite_ him.”

Martin felt his eyes sting, and realized he was crying. He didn’t bother wiping them away, too busy focused on holding Jon’s hand, his only lifeline in the sea of fear and chaos. He thought of Catra and Adora, so close, so ridiculously and totally _in love_ , touching each other constantly. A teasing elbow nudge. A gentle cheek touch. A quick tight hug. And kisses that could be less than a second but seemed to hold all the love in the world. 

Martin’s heart ached.

“I’ve got you. I’m not letting you go, I promise,” Martin said. “I’m here now. I’m not leaving. You’re not alone. So please… _please_ Jon. Hold on.”

Martin couldn’t seem to hear anything else but Jon’s ragged breathing, his fight for his will growing weaker. “Jon, please. You have to stay. I can’t...I can’t lose you again. I…” Every part of him was screaming to _stop talking stop talking you’re just going to get hurt again-_

“I love you.” He said, his voice a whisper. But it seemed to carry like a scream.

The poison light pushed forward, and Martin shook.

Jon’s hand squeezed back.

“Jon?!” Martin asked, hope building up inside of him before he could squashed it down.

Jon’s eyes cracked open, pained and afraid, but they were his. “Martin?” He asked, voice hoarse and dry.

“Y-yeah, I...I’m here.” Martin said.

Jon took a shaking breath, and it rattled around painfully in his chest like a nickel in a jar. “They...they need to leave. I…” Jon winced.

“Jonathan,” Double Trouble said, kneeling beside him. “Are you sure?”

Jon nodded, managing to get a hint of defiance back into his weak stare. “Lead them through. Go home.”

Double Trouble threw their arms around Jon, and the man flinched before realizing what it was.

Double Trouble was hugging them tightly, and after a moment, Jon let go of Martin’s hand to hug the alien back tightly.

“Thank you,” Double Trouble said. “For everything.”

“Anything for a friend.” Jon said.

Double Trouble squeezed him gently, and then pulled away, eyes filled with tears and smile sad. “Take care of him,” They said to Martin. “Goodness knows he can’t do it himself.”

Double Trouble hobbled forward, motioning to the others. “We need to go! Now!”

“But Jon-” Glimmer started, but Double Trouble shook their head.

“He said too. We only have one chance. And this is it!” They said, standing beside the portal, waving everyone on.

Frosta went through first, and the second she did so, the poison light pulsed angrily, and Jon screamed in pain. Martin grabbed his hand again. “I’m here. I’m here. You’re alright, it’s alright…”

“Don’t leave.” Jon gasped, squeezing back so tightly it hurt.

“Never.” Martin said.

Elias was no longer laughing. Now he was shouting obscenities, at She-Ra, at the Alliance, at Double Trouble, at Jon, and at everything in general. But he couldn’t cross the threshold She-Ra had created.

Double Trouble was the second to last to leave. They waved. “Say goodbye to the Admiral for me!” They took a bow, graceful in spite of their wound, and with a flick of their tail and a twirl on their heels, they disappeared into the light.

Jon managed to smile.

“NO!” Elias shouted, fury etched across his face. “How...how DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU!” He turned a murderous glance to Martin, but the shimmering aura suddenly grew stronger, and he fell back with a cry, unable to overpower She-Ra’s pure, raw magic. 

He fell to the ground, face bloody, hair askew and eyes wild with fury, fear, and confusion. He was the opposite of the Elias Bouchard that Martin knew, staring up at She-Ra in open awe. “What...what are you?!”

“I am She-Ra. Protector of Etheria, Princess of Power. I’ve defeated you once before,” She pointed the sword at him, and the poison green on the walls was chased back, like a cockroach scurrying away from the lights. “And I will again. I will not let you hurt my home or my friends.”

“...are you going to kill me?” Elias asked. 

“No,” She said. “I can’t kill fear.” The aura grew stronger, and Elias drew back, as if physically pained by She-Ra’s presence. 

“But you will never enter this place again.” She said.

The green on the walls shot away, replaced with blinding pink light. Elias screamed, though whether in pain, fear, fury, or a combination of them, Martin didn’t know. Elias ran, and the Eye followed, bested once again by She-Ra.

She-Ra glowed, and suddenly Adora was there, looking exhausted. “I…” She let out a long breath, looking at the archives staff, and she smiled slightly. “Thank you. For everything.”

“You better hurry,” Basira said, her voice small. “That portal’s closing.”

Adora nodded, rushing up to the platform. “Will you...be alright?” She asked.

“We’ll manage.” Melanie said.

“We always have.” Daisy agreed.

Adora smiled again, and nodded. “Stay safe.”

“Will do.”

She stepped through the portal and disappeared. The purple light flashed, and then disappeared. 

And they were left in a dark, quiet room.

Jon stirred, and moaned. Martin gasped. “Jon! Are you okay?!”

“I’m...I’m alright.” Jon said weakly.

And then his eyes rolled back into his head, and he went limp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the fact i had to watch the heart pt 2 episode of she ra to interweave quotes and i started crying and my roommate saw me-
> 
> ONE CHAPTER LEFT HOLY SHIT
> 
> idk should i do a little thing? i have a bunch of deleted scenes, do yall want those as a little present for the final part?


	23. Fin(n)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, it's official. im double majoring in biology and creative writing because im an indecisive bitch with no career plans.
> 
> i guess i need to go watch owl house now huh
> 
> i put in one last dose of helen to give the people what they want

“What are you doing here?!” Jon asked.

Helen smiled, leaning against her door with a look of amusement. “I’ve come to visit you in your sickbed.”

“Really, why are you here?” Jon asked. “And how did you find me?”

Helen held up a long, slightly curved white object. Jon’s stomach turned slightly, and Helen examined the rib, twisting it between her impossibly long fingers. “Told you. It’s easier to find you with this.”

“How?” Jon asked.

Helen shrugged. “How should I know? You’re supposed to be the all-knowing one.”

“Did…” Jon paused, and then took a breath. “Did the Eye...get through? To the other world?”

“Like I said,” Helen shrugged. “I’m not the all-knowing one. But as far as I can tell, yes. You were successful. There’s been no shift in power. I don’t believe anyone got through.”

Jon sighed, relief flooding his body. He had been pretty sure he had been successful, but there was really no way to know. It wasn’t like he could call the Alliance up. (Though he wished he could)

“I’d say you got off better than last time,” Helen said, looking lazily around Jon’s hospital room. “You’ve certainly had more visitors.” She glanced at the various cards and treats on his nightstand, and smiled. “Ooh, grapes. Do you mind?” She didn’t wait for him to answer before striding over, carefully plucking a piece of fruit and popping it into her mouth.

“Stop that,” Jon said. “Do you even need to eat?”

“I don’t think so. But it’s still nice. Grapes are Helen’s favorite fruit.” Helen said. 

“What...happened? After we closed the portal?” Jon asked.

“W-w-well…” Helen drawled. “Quite rude of you to assume I was spying. I was, of course, but you still don’t need to assume.” She went back over to her door, going back to leaning leisurely. 

“That one woman-I believe you called her Jude-left not long before the whole thing collapsed. She was in quite a state. Looked like she lost a fight with a mountain. And lost badly. Covered in scratches too, and I can only imagine where she got those from.” Helen smiled, and laughed, her chuckle echoing eerily.

“Your dear boss managed to haul himself out, barely. He was even worse than Jude. Those scratches are going to scar nicely, your cat friend did a good job. Oh, it was quite funny, I wish you could have seen it. The Eye, clueless and powerless!” She laughed again, and the sound gave Jon a slight headache. 

“I have been meaning to ask; how did you survive?” Helen asked. “I expected them to drag you out in pieces. You defied the Eye directly from what I understand. It should have reduced you to atoms.”

“Thanks,” Jon said dryly. “And I…” He trailed off for a moment. “Didn’t do it alone.”

Fine, don’t tell me,” Helen shrugged. “I didn’t realize it was possible to do what you did.”

“What, will you try it now?” Jon asked.

Helen smiled. “Oh, no, Archivist. I’m afraid not. There’s not enough Helen left to try doing so. And if there was, I don’t believe she’d be brave enough to try a stunt like that.”

Jon was quiet for a moment. “So...what now?”

“Hm?” Helen asked.

“What...what am I supposed to do now?” Jon said.

“I don’t know why you’re asking me,” Helen said, and then paused, looking thoughtful. “I suppose...we just continue on. And do the best we can.”

“The best we can.” Jon repeated, testing the phrase in his mouth, not entirely sure if he liked it.

Helen shrugged. “What more can you do other than your best?”

“I…” Jon was quiet for a moment. “I suppose you’re right.”

“Jon, I-” Melanie walked in, and reeled back when she saw Helen, barely managing to keep in a yelp. “What the hell is she doing here?!”

Helen raised her eyebrows. “Only visiting, no need to work yourself up. I was just leaving.”

She turned, though she looked amused by Melanie’s reaction. “Try to watch yourself, Archivist,” She said with a mischievous smile. “The world is so much more interesting with you in it.”

She walked through her door, and it closed on it’s own. A second later there was nothing there but a beige wall. 

Melanie looked flustered. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” Jon said. “She didn’t do anything. Just came in.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Melanie said.

Jon blinked in surprise, and then nodded slowly. “I...yes. I’m alright. Thank you. They said I could leave at noon. Thank God, I’m bored to death...what are you doing here? Is something wrong?”

“I can’t just say hello?” Melanie asked, and Jon raised his eyebrow.

“Ouch,” Melanie said, grabbing a seat and plopping down next to Jon. “I’m giving you a ride home. Plus, I figured you were bored so…” She paused, digging a deck of cards out of her bag. “Have you ever played Baccarat?”

“Ah, no. Can’t say I have.” Jon said.

“Well,” Melanie said, shuffling the cards. “That sucks for you. I’m pretty much an expert, and we have…” She glanced at the clock. “An hour and a half for me to kick your ass in it before you can leave.”

“How kind of you.” Jon said, though he was smiling slightly. 

“That’s me, a regular saint.” She said.

“Is...is everyone alright?” Jon asked. 

“As far as I can tell, yeah. Daisy and Basira seem fine. No big changes with them. And…” She paused, seeming to know what Jon was really asking about. “I haven’t seen Martin.”

“Mhm.” Jon said, trying to act nonchalant. 

Melanie dealt him several cards. “Ready to lose?”

Jon picked up the cards, quiet. He remembered the strange vision the temple had shown him. His dead colleagues (friends) seated at a table, inviting him to join their game. _Martin? I’m sure he’ll join us soon,_ Sasha had said, and the memory sent a chill down his spine.

“Jon?” Melanie asked, her voice soft. “I said are you ready to lose?”

Jon blinked, suddenly refocusing on his hand. _We do the best we can,_ Helen had said, and it was funny to hear such basic wisdom from her of all people.

Do his best, do his best...and right now, his best was trying to learn a new card game with a friend, rebuilding burned bridges that had been broken for so long it was almost like they had never been there. It would take a while, and he knew that. The new bridge would probably be a bit rickety, but it would be there. It would be his best.

“Well,” Jon said. “You never know. My card skills might surprise you.”

Melanie snorted. “In your dreams.” She shuffled her hand, looking closely at it.

“Okay, so each card numbered two to nine has a point value, but the ten, queen, jack and king don’t…”

*** *** ***

“The stomach flu?” Peter Lucas asked, raising his eyebrow. “That’s why you were out until Wednesday?”

“Mhm.” Martin said, nodding. 

“And this has nothing to do with, oh, the sinkhole that appeared in the country over the weekend? Elias Bouchard’s prison escape? Jonathan Simms’ most recent hospitalization?” Peter asked, folding his hands together. His fingers were long.

“I can’t see how any of that would have made me sick, no.” Martin said evenly.

Peter scowled, and sighed. “Well, I suppose what matters is that you’re back. Now, we have a lot of work to do-”

“I have Daisy and Basira helping me search the archives for statements regarding the Extinction,” Martin said. “They’ve found a few, but I’m not sure if-”

“Hold on,” Peter said. “Did you say Daisy and Basira were helping you?”

“And Melanie too, but she went to go pick up Jon from the hospital.” Martin said.

“Martin,” Peter said, his voice exasperated in a way that grated Martin, as if _he_ was being the irrational one. “I thought we agreed that it was best not to get them involved.”

“We did,” Martin said, taking a deep breath. “But I’ve changed my mind.”

“Did you, now.” Peter said quietly, looking thoughtful. He stood up, walking over to his fish tank and dropping in a few pellets to the wide-eyed fish. They darted after the orange feed, fighting each other for a scrap, unblinking eyes never showing any shift in pain or emotion as they chased and pecked each other around the edges of the tank, desperate for a mouthful.

“Martin,” Peter said slowly. “I think you’re making a very unwise decision.”

“I don’t,” Martin said, proud of how steady his voice was. “I don’t know what game you think you’re playing, keeping me in the dark, leading everyone along on a string until the last possible moment, but I’m done playing. We need their help. I need their help.”

“ _We_ don’t need anyone.” Peter said.

“You’re wrong.” Martin said.

Peter’s head turned to him, an almost predatory look in his eye. “I would choose your next words carefully.” He said.

“I’ll still help you,” Martin said. “I still want to stop the Extinction. But I’m not going to do it like you and Elias would. I’m going to do it with help. With my friends’ help.”

Peter laughed. “I’d hardly call them your friends.”

Martin nearly squirmed, doubt trying to find a foothold in his chest. But it missed, and he set his jaw. “They are. I’m not going to keep your secrets. I’m not going to let you manipulate me into the Lonely.”

“You’ve become quite self-destructive, haven’t you?” Peter said. 

“No,” Martin said. “Just had an eye-opening conversation, you could say.”

“And what if I disagree with your new terms?” Peter asked. “It would be a shame for the archives staff to just...Vanish. But I don’t think anyone would look too deeply into it.”

“Then I’ll leave,” Martin said. “And if I can’t leave, I’ll sit in a chair and do nothing. I won’t help you, no matter what you say or do, if you even _think_ about hurting them. And you need me for this, don’t you?”

Peter was quiet, and Martin had his hands behind his back so the man couldn’t see them shaking. They were at a stalemate, and Martin didn’t know what would happen if Peter called his bluff. 

After a million years, Peter sighed, the first to break eye contact. “I can’t say I’m not disappointed…” He said, going back to his desk and sitting down. “But fine. I suppose I can live with these...new arrangements.”

“Good.” Martin nodded, starting to walk out the door.

“I’m proud of you, you know,” Peter said, his voice suddenly light again as though nothing had happened. “I suppose all this has helped give you more of a backbone.”

Martin’s hand tightened on the doorknob, and he took a deep breath. “I don’t want you to be proud of me,” He said quietly. “And nothing that I’ve accomplished is thanks to you.” He remembered his own words to Jon.

“I’m strong in spite of you,” He said. “We all are.”

There was no response.

Martin left, not bothering to look back at Peter. He closed the door, and slumped against the wall, letting out a shaky breath and trying to stop his trembling.

And in spite of himself, he smiled.

Martin shook himself out, making his way back to the archives. He rounded the corner, and nearly ran straight into Jon and Melanie. He blinked. “Jon? You’re back? I’d have thought you would have wanted to go home.”

“That’s what I said,” Melanie said. “But he wants to start cleaning up the mess he made from looking through statements with Double Trouble.”

“Ah,” Martin said, looking everywhere but Jon’s eyes. “Of course.”

There was an awkward beat of silence, and Melanie coughed. “I’m gonna…” She motioned to the entrance of the archives. “You know. Do my job. I’ll...meet you two down there, I guess.”

She scurried down the stairs, a funny smile on her face. And Martin and Jon were completely alone.

There was a silence that seemed to press on forever. “So…” Martin said. “You...you’re alright.”

Jon nodded. “They said it was just...fatigue, I suppose. Didn’t feel like it, I’ll tell you that, but…” He shrugged. “And you? Are you okay?”

“Me?” Martin asked. “You’re the one that nearly died.”

“We all nearly died.” Jon said.

“Yes, but you nearly died the worst.” Martin said.

“I already said I was fine,” Jon said. “So now you have to answer my question.”

“I…” Martin paused. “I’m...I’m okay. I’m pretty good, actually.” He smiled, and it felt real. It was nice to have a real smile.

Jon nodded, and the silence fell over them again like a thick blanket. 

“I…” Jon trailed off, looking unsure of how to proceed. “What...what you said in the temple, when the portal was going…”

“Oh. That.” Martin said. He felt slightly nauseous. “I...honestly wasn’t sure if you could hear me.”

“Did...did you mean it?” Jon asked.

Martin opened his mouth, closed it, and then took a deep breath. “Yeah,” He said quietly. “I did.”

“Oh,” Jon said, sounding surprised. “I...didn’t realize.”

“And it’s okay if you don’t feel the same,” Martin said immediately. “Really, I don’t want you to feel like you have to say anything. You don’t. I just...I figured I should be honest with you.”

Jon was quiet, and Martin felt himself squirm. “We can just forget about it if you like, I get if you’re uncomfortable-”

“There’s this new cafe near my flat,” Jon said, interrupting Martin. “It seems nice. It has some Italian name, I don’t remember it. I’ve been meaning to go, see if it’s any good...maybe…” He trailed off.

Martin blinked. “I...don’t have any plans this Saturday.”

“Can I...pick you up at 1:30?” Jon asked.

Martin finally forced himself to look into Jon’s eyes. They were the same hazel with the gray edges, a little unsure but filled with a fragile hope. Wholly, and entirely his eyes.

Martin smiled. “I’d like that.”

Jon smiled back, and the two walked into the archives together, making plans for the weekend.

*** *** ***

YEARS LATER…

“Oh, thank you, darling,” Double Trouble smiled as an audience member handed them a bouquet of flowers. “Oh, really, you’re too kind.”

They felt someone’s tiny hands grab their tail, and they smiled widely, turning around to see a small, cat-like child with blonde hair and big blue eyes. “Hello, you little gremlin,” Double Trouble said, leaning down to pick up Finn. “How did you enjoy the show?”

“I liked it!” They grinned, showing off a newly lost tooth. “Momma said it would be too scary for me, but I wasn’t scared. Not even a little.”

“Not even when the pod people started to take over?” Double Trouble asked.

“Not even a little.” Finn declared.

“Goodness, you’re so brave,” Double Trouble said, catching sight of Catra and Adora rushing to catch up with their energetic child. “Why, hello you two! So glad you could make it!”

“Finn, you gotta quit running off,” Catra said, panting slightly. “You’re gonna give us gray hairs.”

“Looks like they already did, kitten.” Double Trouble said, and Finn snickered.

“Come on,” Adora said, reaching out for Finn. “It’s late. We need to get home.”

“Noooo!” Finn said mournfully, hugging Double Trouble tightly. “I wanna stay up! Just for a little? Please?”

“You already stayed up,” Catra said. “It’s like, an hour past your bedtime.”

“Please, Momma?” Finn asked, eyes getting big.

“I can watch them for a bit,” Double Trouble said. “I’m just about to head off to the cast party. It’s a small crew, and I know them all. It’ll be easy to keep an eye on Finn.”

Adora pursed her lips. “Cast party?”

“We’ll keep it PG.” Double Trouble assured her.

“Please moms? Please please please?” Finn begged.

Adora and Catra looked at each other, seeming to have a silent conversation. “Well…” Adora said slowly. “Just a half hour. And then straight home and to bed!”

“Yes! Thank you!” Finn cheered.

Double Trouble smiled, waiting until Catra and Adora were out of sight before setting Finn down and looking them in the eyes. “Wanna go stuff our faces with candy until we get sick?”

“Yes!”

Catra and Adora, meanwhile, kept close to each other, hands intertwined as they left the crowd, content to be silent in each other’s company. They stopped at the edge of the forest, the soft glow of magic, night creatures, and the moon and stars making it easy to see each other.

“Do you think they’re alright?” Adora asked, looking up towards the moon.

“I think they’re just fine.” Catra said, knowing exactly who she was talking about.

Adora pulled Catra in a little closer, and they stared up at the endless sky, stars twinkling as if waving to them. The endlessness of the universe stared back, and for some it might have stirred terror, but the two merely held onto each other.

Because as long as they were together, everything would be alright.

And together they remained.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BRUH WE
> 
> WE DID IT
> 
> WOOOOOOOOOOO
> 
> OH MY GOD WE DID IT
> 
> i promised some deleted scenes so here's some tidbits i cut before we get to the closing stuff:  
> -There was supposed to be a bit where Double Trouble locks Georgie out of her bathroom and starts playing with all her shampoos, soaps, etc. it was cut because it didn't fit but you can imagine it happened if you wish  
> -Mermista was supposed to simply spray Jude with water. It was supposed to be funny, but it kind of killed the mood so it got cut   
> -Glimmer was supposed to say fuck at one point but i never had the chance  
> -Scorpia was supposed to bear hug martin and nearly break his ribs  
> -Melog was intended to sit on Melanie to trap her when the gang first arrived. you can imagine how that went  
> -you may remember Double Trouble saying they were immune to poison. That was put in there to set up a joke when the temple was falling apart. The Corruption would enter and Jon would suggest Double Trouble wouldn't be affected much because of their immunity, at which point Double Trouble says they were lying to try and dissaude Jon from possibly poisoning them. But the Corruption didn't fit well with the other entities, and I would have to jump through a lot of hoops to make a joke that wasn't very funny  
> -I wrote a final Elias scene where he's all scarred and defeated, but who wants to read that when we can read gay shit?
> 
> Anyway, THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR READING THIS. I DIDN'T EXPECT TO EVEN MAKE A SECND CHAPTER, BUT HERE WE ARE. YOU HAVE SPOILED ME WITH YOUR COMMENTS BECAUSE NOW I'LL LIKE PUBLISH SOMETHING AND BE LIKE 'HEY WHERE'S THE DOZENS OF PEOPLE BEING SUPER NICE TO ME' OH MY GOD
> 
> This was so much fun to write, and im so so so proud of how it turned out. The magnus archives and She ra have such inverse energies, and i feel like people who came here for the tma will come out loving she ra and the people who came for she ra will come out loving tma
> 
> not to shamelessy self promote, but if you still want more gay stuff, i'm making a genderbent tangled series because tangled is one of my favorite movies of all time and the only thing that could make it better was if it was gay so here we are. it has a consistent update schedule too, which is kinda crazy. it has similar humor to this book, and similar pining and concepts, so i do suggest you give it a looksie
> 
> thank you all so, so, so, so much for staying with me on this wild ride. hit makes me smile, every kudo makes me squeal, and don't even get me started on the comments
> 
> i love you all so much! Stay safe, stay healthy, and have a great day :)

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on my tumblr to chat and get updates!!  
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/toadintheroad


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